Henry Black and the Memory of Death
by Earl Lonsdale
Summary: AU. Harry dies and learns the true meaning of being Master of Death. He goes to a new world as Henry Black to guide Harry Potter, who is neglected by his parents, and prevent him from going down the path of evil. Good Potters and Dumbledore. Different Dark Lord. Multi pairings. Hufflepuff explored.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

Harry groaned in despair.

He was supposed to have died. He was certain that he had intercepted the green light of the Avada Kedavra curse with his body. He was certain he had saved his daughter. There had been an attack on Diagon Alley just as he had sent his sons to Hogwarts. Dark wizards poured out of thin air, trying to destroy the Potter-Weasley family for some unknown reason. Harry had eliminated several of them before seeing a jet of green light rush towards his precious daughter; and unable to think of anything else, he jumped in front of the curse to save her.

The ethereal King's Cross was absolutely as desolated as the previous time Harry had spoken to Albus Dumbledore. The platforms were deserted and only a single train was in sight. Harry wandered for a short while, trying to leave the station from the front, but only found himself emerging from the back.

"Dumbledore?" Harry called out. "Albus? Are you here?"

He sighed when no response was forthcoming. Having nothing better to do, Harry walked to the sole train in the platforms in front of him and entered it. Frowning, he walked to the First Class compartment and sat down.

"Ticket, please."

Harry turned around and his mouth fell. Standing behind him in a ticket collector's uniform was Death himself. Unable to stop himself, Harry chuckled. "The uniform and the scythe don't quite go together."

Death sighed in despair. "Whose fault do you think is that? This is your party after all, Mr. Potter."

Harry frowned. "What do you mean? Can you not speak like Dumbledore please?"

"I would do as you say if I had an option. Alas, we are all bound to the whims of our own limitations," Death said in an eerily Dumbledore-like calm voice. Then, he removed his hood and revealed Dumbledore's face. "Do not be shocked. I can only come as one you would feel comfortable receiving guidance from, and only in a place that represents best the Realm Between Worlds, according to your own life experiences. It was I who spoke to you the previous time as well. But then you weren't prepared to know my true identity."

Harry nodded. "King's Cross was where I left the muggle world and went to Hogwarts for the first time. It is also the place where I first saw my wife and best friends." He frowned. "If you are truly Death, then tell me this. Is my daughter safe? Or did those dark wizards get her?"

The Ticker Collector paused for a moment, before taking out a cell phone from his pocket. He dialed a number and spoke clearly, "Status update: Lily Luna Potter: dimension 0100-7895-4098-C." He waited for several seconds while listening to the phone before nodding. "Thanks," he said before hanging up. He turned to Harry. "Your sacrifice left the same blood protection as that enjoyed by you in your early childhood. Your daughter is safe and lives with her Aunt Hermione. Barring any accidents, she will live to see the birth of her great grandchildren."

Harry turned pale. "Then that must mean the others didn't make it," he sighed. "My sweet Ginny."

"She has moved on to the next great adventure," said Death.

"Oh, please be clearer," Harry begged. "I beg you. Can I see her? Will I ever be with her again?"

Death shook his head. "Alas, the consciousness that gives identity to the soul of a mortal is limited to a single lifetime alone. The soul lives on, reincarnated as a new life, but the identity is lost. Verily, as a mortal sheds clothes and wears new ones each day, so does the soul shed all traces of its past identity and enters a new one."

Harry listened in silence. "Then, you are saying that my soul has also lived many lives?"

"Indeed," said Death. "But all previous lives experienced by your soul are lost and cannot be regained. Such is the ordinary state of affairs. However, you have united the Hallows and inflicted upon your soul a freedom, of sorts. The identity, consciousness and memories of your soul henceforth will no longer be lost."

Harry grimaced. "I always thought the Master of Death bit was a highly exaggerated metaphor or something."

"Exaggerated? Yes. Metaphor? No." Death took a step closer to Harry. "By completing my challenge, your soul has won the right to retain its memories as it traverses the eternal journey through different worlds."

Harry frowned. "That sounds horrible to me," he said. "Like some sort of twisted immortality. I can imagine it: waking up as a one day old toddler, but possessing memories of several lifetimes. Can nothing be done to change it?"

"Alas," said Death. "To unite the Hallows is no trivial matter. Verily, as a mortal who raises a wand and casts a spell cannot call back the spell on learning of its consequences, neither I nor you do have an option to undo what has been done by your uniting the Hallows."

Harry sighed. He nodded slowly. "Very well," he said grimly. "I suppose I have no choice. Is there anything else?"

Death nodded. "The choice henceforth will always be yours. A ticket must be purchased."

"Is that also a metaphor for something?"

Death nodded again. "You may choose the ordinary ticket for the slow journey and live the whole life from a newborn till death. In that case, your memories will be retained as… something that you are aware of rather than what you have experienced, like a muggle movie, of sorts. You will be a newborn who has seen a movie about your previous lives. The feelings, emotions and desires will be completely detached."

"Oh," said Harry. "That actually doesn't sound too bad. It would be good to get rid of the emotional baggage of my current life."

"However," said Death. "You are currently seated in a First Class seat." Harry groaned in disbelief and looked dolefully at Death. "The price is higher, the benefits are greater. You will have the option to shed, as you call it, the emotional baggage of your cumulative experiences, but you may retain it if you so desire. As the train moves, you will travel in reverse order through the time frame of the world you are about to enter, as it would have progressed without your presence. Outside the window, you will see glimpses of the world you are about to enter in reverse order. You may get off the train at whatever point you desire. Just press the red button." Death pointed a red button near Harry's seat. "You will be able to enter at whatever point of your age as you desire. Doing so, you may entirely avoid the process of pampers, baby-care, toilet training, puberty… However, the price will be greater."

"How so?"

"You will work as my agent," said Death. "Every time you travel by First Class, you will be taken to a world where an individual tries to cheat me of their mortality. You will bring death or aid another to bring death to the Cheater. Until you do so, you will remain in that world."

"As an immortal?" asked Harry curiously.

"Standard protocol enables you to achieve immortality through various means: you may choose a Philosopher's Stone, an immortal creature as an Animagus or proceed as a Vampire or Dementor," said Death casually. "It might interest you to note that the Fawkes in your world was a Grindelwald from another reality, who had united the Hallows. He had to remain until Albus Dumbledore's supply of the Elixir of Life from Flamel's Philosopher's Stone ran out."

Harry nodded slowly. Just then, the train started moving. He saw Death become a bit tense.

"You are being sent to a dimension in the multiverse where Lily Potter gave birth to twins," said Death seriously. "For reasons that will become clear to you as you travel, you must guide the Chosen One in his path to bring down one who has aspired to immortality and become the leader that the world needs, as Albus Dumbledore will not be a suitable mentor."

Harry nodded. He had experience in killing Voldemort. "Is it Voldemort again?"

"Nay, but that will become clear when you enter the world. Do you wish to retain your emotional baggage?"

Harry frowned. After a few seconds, he hesitated. Then, he shook his head. "I wish to mourn for my family a while longer but I cannot. If I keep it, I will not be able to focus on my task and separate the new people from the old."

"Very well," said Death. "You have made a wise choice; you will be like a completely new person with the memories and knowledge of another. When you enter the new world, you must choose a name and identity for yourself, and that will become your new identity. How do you wish to maintain your immortality?"

Harry raised an eyebrow contemplatively. "Becoming a Dementor or Vampire is definitely out of question," he muttered. "What choice do I have among mythical creatures?"

"Phoenix, unicorn, basilisk among others."

"Basilisks aren't immortal," Harry said, with a frown. "I should know. I killed one when I was twelve."

"Indeed," said Death. "But it resurrected. Had you paid attention to the carcass, you would have noticed a tiny serpent emerge from the womb and move into hiding."

Harry was surprised. So, Slytherin's monster was still lying beneath Hogwarts in the Chamber of Secrets in his own home world. He noticed Death was waiting impatiently for him to answer, while gazing outside the window. Harry followed his gaze and gasped.

"That is not possible!" Harry yelled.

In front of him, very clearly was Hogwarts - not in splendor and majesty - but burning and in utter ruin. A horde of dragons attacked it, while werewolves ran rampant among the screaming and fleeing students. A group of wizards and witches - the Order of the Phoenix perhaps - tried to hold off the invaders but they were fighting a losing battle.

Then, Harry's eyes fell on the leader of the invading force. He was standing aside from the battle, calmly commanding his human soldiers from the distance. Harry felt his blood freeze and his throat constrict.

"It can't be," he whispered. The monster who commanded the death of innocent children and the destruction of Hogwarts was a replica of himself. But he looked nothing like what Harry would see had he faced a mirror. There was a cold indifference in the face of the dark-robed man as he gracefully flicked his wand and sliced the head of a wizard who tried to challenge him. Harry gasped again. It was Sirius Black who had been murdered. "What unholy world is this!"

"I care not for the lives and crimes of man, but death must come to all in the end and none may cheat me for long. Make your choice," Death hissed.

Harry ripped his head away from the window and gazed at the unyielding blue eyes in front of him. He knew then that it was definitely not Albus Dumbledore but Death that gazed upon him. "I'll have a phoenix Animagus then," he muttered.

"Very well," said Death. He snapped a piece of paper and scribbled something on it and the paper vanished. "To transform, you must think _Memento Mori_ with the intent to become a phoenix."

Harry nodded. He followed Death's back as he retreated from the carriage, before turning back to the window. He froze yet again. The scenes were nearly as gory as before but of a different kind. His doppelganger was lying prone in a small cell.

"Azkaban!" Harry hissed with disgust. He leaned forward, wanting to see what terrible crime he committed to be sent to such a vile place. But the scenes remained unchanging. Harry's expression darkened. "Who would send a teenager to Azkaban?"

The answer to his question was like experiencing a bucket of cold water being thrown on him on a winter morning. The Order of the Phoenix grabbed him from Dumbledore's office after Snape was supposed to have murdered him. Without Snape's intervention and with Dumbledore dead, the sixteen year old was held accessory to murder, and condemned by his own family.

"So, James and Lily Potter are alive," said Harry to himself. He saw Lily Potter's hysterical breakdown during her confrontation with her son, who had aided Draco Malfoy in allowing Death Eaters to enter the castle. "But why would he do that?"

The answer left Harry stunned. For several minutes, he remained speechless and unmoving. He tried to convince himself that the scenes in front of him could hardly be true, but failed. The answer was plain.

The Potters treated the younger twin as the Dursleys had treated him. He had been neglected, ridiculed and faced scorn all his life, driving him to join the side of the Dark Lord. However, when he was thrown in Azkaban and nobody came to rescue him - not his family or his new maser - Harry Potter snapped, his magical core expanded and twisted in corruption, he became a more terrible than the Dark Lord himself. He became a terror of his own making.

Harry sighed. The world he was going to was strange and alien to him. He was glad he had let go of his emotional baggage. To see an alternate version of himself suffer at the hands of James Potter, Lily Potter, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin would have been beyond staggering. He averted his gaze, allowing it to rest at the red button he was supposed to press.

Harry frowned. How would it work out? Would his soul be transferred into the body of the existing Harry Potter or would he be a completely different person? Death hadn't been clear about that. Regardless, he would need a body. The question was whose.

Shrugging, Harry brought his fist crashing down on the red button and everything turned black.


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Harry opened his eyes.

The pale moonlight pierced the darkness of the night and showed him where he was. He frowned when his orientation was completely skewed and he looked at his hands. They were puny. He gasped and tried to look at his own body as best as he could.

"Great," he muttered. "I'm puny again." He frowned. The memories of his past life were clear in his mind. But gone were the feelings he associated with them. "Lily Luna," he whispered into the darkness. "My princess." He frowned at the lack of any emotion. He might as well have uttered any random string of names. He knew what he should feel but he just didn't feel it. What he did feel was hunger and an irrational desire to have a Mars bar.

He was in muggle London. Hyde Park stretched out in front of him and he reached inside his pockets. He had nothing - no money, no wand, no identity.

"Hey, kid."

Harry turned around and blinked a few times before making out the figure of a man in uniform.

"The park will be closed in ten minutes," said the man. "Where are you parents?"

Harry hesitated. He had to muster all his Slytherin cunning to deal with the situation. And then he knew exactly what he had to. It was as simple as -

"I dunno."

The guard frowned. "What do you mean? They must be here somewhere?"

Harry shook his head. "They left me," he said, making sure to keep his voice just a hint sad. "It's fine, sir. It's better this way. At least, they won't hurt me no more."

The guard's jaws dropped. He looked around before reaching for his walkie-talkie. "Emergency situation, Bobby," he spoke into it. "I've got a lost kid in the park - abandoned by the looks of it - I reckon a victim of, you know, child abuse - about eight, maybe nine, definitely no more than nine - yes, sure." He turned to Harry. "What's your name, son?" he asked kindly.

"H-Henry," Harry blurted out, changing his name in the very last moment. "Henry Black, sir." Quietly, he chose his identity - Henry Black, scion to the Most Noble and Ancient House of Black.

The guard smiled reassuringly at Harry before returning to the walkie-talkie. "Henry Black - yeah, very common last name - near impossible to locate those scoundrels -" He turned to Harry again. "Do you know where you and your parents used to live, Henry?"

Harry pretended to think for a few moments and then he shook his head. "We drove for a long time to get here," he said, trying to sound helpful.

The man sighed and then spoke to Harry kindly. "Come on then, son," he took Harry's hand. "I'll take you to the local council's children's home." He gazed at Harry sadly, pitying the poor abandoned and abused child.

Harry gladly followed the man to the shelter and gratefully accepted lodgings for the night. The old lady who was warden of the shelter home decided to delay alerting the police until the next morning; which worked well with Harry.

The next morning, before anyone else woke up, Harry opened the window and looked outside at the cold foggy morning. He grinned to himself and thought, 'Memento Mori.' Immediately, he felt his body alter in shape and before he knew it, his entire perception of the world changed. He had become a phoenix.

He trilled playfully and soared out of the window, enjoying the view of the world through his magical eyes. A phoenix did not perceive things as humans - instead of colours, they saw heat and magic in the world. Harry flew around for a while, hidden in the fog, as he tried making sense of the heatmaps. Humans showed as a distinct bright shade of heat in the pale background. Everything with life that exuded heat was visible to him distinctly; he could perceive life forms through walls and at huge distances.

It was time to leave the shelter and rejoin the magical world.

Harry flapped his wings and flew towards a particularly bright source of heat. He gasped on recognizing the person who was emanating it - a young Hermione Granger, standing on the balcony of her home. Harry realized he was somewhere near the residential neighbourhood of Holland Park and that the brighter source of heat was an indicator of magical potential. He flew towards Hermione and flew in a loop near her.

The girl squealed and reached out to him. Harry chuckled, which came out as an amused trill, and he flew in a loop around her head; and then he soared higher, deciding to leave her for the time being. He flew higher and looked at the ground - he could perceive plants, animals and humans - muggles and wizards - by the relative heat and magic being exuded from different people, he could compare the magical potential of the witches and wizards below him.

But more than anything, the carefree and pleasant nature of the phoenix was beginning to affect him. He felt himself light-hearted and an unexplainable sensation of joy and thrill fleeted through him. He flew Eastwards and made for Charing Cross, and when he approached it, he felt a slight pressure against him, and he flew through it, piercing through the veil that separated muggle London from Diagon Alley. He made sure to stay high up in the air as he observed people move about.

He gasped when he saw the first truly dark shade of heat and blinked on recognizing Lucius Malfoy. So the legend that a phoenix could perceive good and evil was not entirely baseless. But being able to perceive it was all Harry could do - he didn't particularly feel averse to Malfoy or his specific magical corruptness. It was just something that was there; and Harry wondered what the dark represented. He decided it was something he would have to learn with time.

He flew down to a secluded area and emerged as a human child. He had spent the night making his plans and now it was time to enact them. He trusted Death's words that whatever identity he chose would pass all tests from the Ministry and Dumbledore.

He paused and with a sudden motion hit the back of his head against the wall.

"Ouch," he cried out, his frail body feeling the pain. The world swam around him for several minutes as he tried to steady himself, forcing himself not to lose consciousness.

Harry then wandered out into the street and walked towards the Leaky Cauldron, when he saw someone familiar and blessed his fortune. "Excuse me, sir," Harry stopped abruptly and looked at the red-haired man who was leading his large family of redheads on a tour of the Alley.

"Yes, lad?" asked Arthur Weasley kindly. "How can I help you? Are you lost?"

Harry nodded, trying to keep his expression as innocent and sad as possible. He then appeared confused and added, "Please, can you help me, sir? I don't remember anything. I… I don't know who I am…"

Arthur Weasley looked at him with concern. He turned to his wife, who had an identical expression of worry on her face. "Molly, take the children to the Quidditch store and then stay in the bistro behind Madam Malkin's. I will be back soon."

Harry smiled inside his head as he followed the dependable Arthur Weasley to St. Mungo's, where medical scans revealed his head wound, and mind healers tried to locate his memories but were met with nothing at all - after all, Harry had trained himself in Occlumency to keep out the most terrible Dark Lord of their times, mere mind healers were child's play compared to that.

"His amnesia is too powerful," said a healer apologetically to Arthur. "I'm afraid there's nothing we can do."

Arthur hesitated. "But what happens to the boy now?" he asked curiously. He looked at Harry, who was pretending to be asleep from the mental strain of the Legilimency attempts. "What do we do with him?"

The healer replied. "I took the liberty of informing the Ministry's Department for the Welfare of Pureblood Children. An employee will be here shortly; if the boy is a pureblood or is descended through a direct paternal line from a pureblood family, then his identity will be determined and he will be sent to his next-of-kin."

"And if he's not a pureblood?" asked Arthur Weasley with a hint of anger. "What if he's a muggleborn? What happens to him then?"

"I'm afraid," the healer continued, "it will be out of our hands. As there is nothing wrong with him, he will be sent to a wizarding orphanage or a muggle children's home, and a notice can be published in the Daily Prophet and muggle newspapers if somebody is searching for him."

"I'd rather let him stay at my own home than send him to an orphanage," replied Arthur, looking at Harry.

Harry chose that moment to wake up. He rubbed his eyes and looked innocently at Arthur Weasley, oddly touched by the man's words. In his past life, he was Arthur's son-in-law and although none of the emotions remained, new ones were being created. His willingness to take in a lost child with amnesia who turned to him for aid spoke volumes of the man's character, and Harry vowed to develop relationships with the Weasleys again.

Soon, the Ministry worker arrived and after a quick relay of the facts of the case, proceeded to scan Harry with his detectors. "Interesting," the man said, as the devices started making odd noises. "Curious." He waited patiently for more but nothing else happened. Frowning, he turned to the healer and Arthur. "The boy is definitely a pureblood. His name is Henry Black, nine years old, son of Regulus Arcturus Black and an unknown witch. The lack of a mother's name implies that she was either a muggleborn or most likely a halfblood with a muggleborn father." He nodded, pleased with his analysis. "As the oldest Black of his generation, he is also heir to the Black estate and titles."

Arthur Weasley gasped. His eyes widened. "I know Sirius Black personally," he said. "I will contact him immediately about his nephew." He shook his head. "We all believed young Regulus had been killed by You-Know-Who for turning against him." He turned to Harry and smiled reassuringly. "You wait here, Henry. I'll fetch your Uncle Sirius."

'Uncle Sirius is in for a massive shock,' thought Harry to himself with amusement. But then his humour faded as he recalled the treatment of his counterpart at the hands of Sirius Black and the rest of the Potter family. He sighed and lay back on the bed. Closing his eyes, he mused how to deal with the Blacks and the Potters; he wanted to be accepted by them but how could he achieve that while at the same time become a mentor to their neglected son. Although, Harry didn't feel much for them because of who they were, he wanted to be accepted into a family; it was odd, he was like a grownup with grownup memories and powers but a child's instincts.

True to his word, Arthur Weasley returned in less than ten minutes with Sirius Black and a stunning dark-haired woman who looked somewhat familiar to him from his previous life's memories. "That's him," said Arthur. "Henry Black. You haven't heard from Regulus at all?"

Sirius shook his head. He was dumbfounded. He scrutinized Harry with sharp eyes before turning to the healer. "You are certain? There can be no mistake?"

"Absolutely not," said the healer. "The Ministry takes very special care not to make mistakes with pureblood heirs."

Harry was slightly surprised to see the disappointment and dismay in Sirius and the woman's faces at the healer's explanation when he saw the rings on his finger, and the woman's, and he realized why they had hurried to see him. It wasn't out of concern, it was because he had usurped the title which they probably expected their son to inherit.

"I suppose we have no choice but to take him with us," said the woman. Harry decided that despite her stunning looks he didn't like her at all. He turned pleadingly towards Arthur Weasley, who appeared somewhat shocked by the Blacks' reactions.

"If it is such an inconvenience, Gwenog, I will be glad to provide Henry -"

"Don't be ridiculous, Arthur," Sirius cut in. "The boy's my nephew. I am not entirely pleased with this turn of events, what with no word from Regulus in over seven years, but I won't abandon the boy."

Harry realized why the woman was so familiar. She was the famous Gwenog Jones, captain of the Hollywood Harpies.

"Well, boy," Sirius turned to him. "Come on, get up. Let's get going."

Grimmauld Place surprised Harry. It was completely different from what he had recalled it as in his memories. It screamed of Quidditch and expensive furnishings. On their arrival, Sirius took him to the living room, and while Harry stood upright in attention, Sirius spoke to him sternly, while Gwenog observed from a slight distance.

"You will be given a room in the ground floor, you will have dinner with the rest of the family as often as possible and you will not have any need for material things. Your chores will be at a minimum - to keep your own room clean and clear any mess you make. But I want you to understand that we're not entirely pleased with this situation. Your father betrayed and abandoned the light and I will not have you corrupting my children. Is that understood?"

Harry hesitated, trying to think of a suitable response for a nine year old. Instead, he pretended to be frightened by Sirius' words and shrunk away from him.

Sirius sighed exasperatedly. "Nobody's going to hurt you, boy." He snapped his fingers and a house-elf appeared from thin air. "This is Kreacher. If you need anything, ask him. Kreacher, this is Regulus' son and -"

"Master Regulus' son!" Kreacher croaked in delight, rushing towards Harry and kneeling, grabbed his legs adoringly.

Sirius glared at Harry as if Kreacher's misbehaviour was his fault. "The ground floor has all the common rooms - the living room, the kitchen, the dining room, the library and a den. The basement and cellar have several interesting rooms as well. Your movement is restricted to these areas. The first and second floor are for the family. Is that understood?"

"Y-Yes, sir," said Harry, while thinking what a bastard this Sirius was being to his own nephew. But then he realized from his memory that even his Sirius had been like this to everyone who wasn't a bona fide Gryffindor. His attention was diverted at the sound of footsteps and he turned towards the door.

"Papa!"

Sirius' entire demeanour changed, and from being mean and stern, he changed into a devoted and gentle father, as he scooped his excited little daughter in his arms. "Carina, I want you to meet your cousin Henry. He's here to stay with us for now."

Harry smiled at the cheerful girl.

"Cousin Henry?" she asked with a frown. "But that's not a star name! That's not a Black name!"

Harry looked at her curiously. She was much younger than him, and in high spirits, and had blurted out the first thing in her mind. There didn't seem to be any spite in her voice. He looked at her apologetically.

"Well," Sirius hesitated. "He still is your cousin. He will stay in the ground floor in Grandma's old room. I don't want you to be a bother to him, okay, sweetheart?"

"Okay," she said. She threw a regretful look at her cousin before allowing her father to take her back upstairs.

Harry waited for a few seconds in silence before turning to the still adulating house-elf. "Get up, Kreacher. This is no way for an elf of the noble house of Black to behave. Show some dignity." The house-elf jerked up instantly and saluted to Harry with full attention. "Good. Show me to my grandmother's room. Uncle Sirius has allocated it to me."

Kreacher moved instantly, leading Harry through a narrow side-passage to a master bedroom that appeared as if it hadn't been used in years. Inside was a portrait of a rather nasty looking woman. She instantly turned to Harry.

"WHO DARES ENTER MY ROOM! MUDBLOODS, BLOOD TRAITORS, FILTH! KREACHER, HOW DARE YOU -"

"Mistress, stop!" Kreacher interrupted her, and then both the portrait and the house-elf were shocked at Kreacher's audacity. Harry smiled to himself, wondering just how powerful an ally he had secured in the house-elf. "This is Master Regulus' son, heir of the Most Noble and Ancient House of Black."

The woman in the portrait scrutinized Harry in depth. After nearly a minute of inactivity, she finally sighed. "Well, what are you waiting for, boy. Tell me your name. Has my Reggie not taught you any manners at all?"

"Yes, ma'am. Sorry, ma'am," gushed Harry like a rebuked child. "Henry Black, ma'am. I don't know, ma'am. The healer at St. Mangoes said I have amnesium."

"Amnesia. St. Mungo's," the woman corrected distractedly. "Oh dear, then you probably cannot tell me anything about my Reggie or what happened to him?"

"No, ma'am," said Harry. "Sorry, ma'am."

She sighed before turning to him and nodded. "The fate of the Blacks is secured. That blood traitor oaf I gave birth to will not lead my noble family to ruination." She turned to Kreacher. "You say he is the heir after Sirius?"

"Yes, mistress," replied Kreacher. "He is three years older than Miss Carina and much older than Master Eridanus."

"Excellent!" Walburga Black squealed with joy. "I will groom the boy! I will make him worthy of the Black name. I will make him a fitting servant of the Dark Lord. I will -"

"Kreacher, remove this portrait from my room," said Harry instantly, rubbing his forehead. "It's giving me a headache. I am your true master, not some measly piece of canvas with watercolour."

"WHAT! HOW DARE YOU -"

Kreacher snapped his fingers and the portrait vanished.

Harry looked around the room. "Lilac!" he said in chagrin at the colour of the walls. "Are you kidding me? Can I have a nice and simple off-white colour? Wheatish."

"Yes, master!" Kreacher squealed in delight. Harry knew from his memory that Regulus Black's room had wheat-coloured walls when he lived in the house.

"Good work," said Harry, and he walked to the window. He looked outside and saw the street. A few cars were parked further up and down the street. "Tell me about the family."

Kreacher spoke without hesitation. "Blood traitor master is a disgrace. He works in Ministry as Auror and consorts with mudbloods and filth."

"Language, Kreacher!" Harry cut in sharply. "Neither a pureblood nor his elf should sully his tongue with such vulgarities. How are we better than the rest if we sink to their own level?"

"Yes, master. Kreacher is sorry, master." Kreacher bowed dejectedly. "Master Sirius works as an Auror, but he also owns many businesses from where he makes his money. Mistress Gwenog used to play Quidditch, she stopped last year before giving birth to Master Eridanus. Miss Carina stays at home and plays with dolls." As an afterthought, he added, "The ones that Kreacher doesn't hide."

"And any close friends of the family?"

"The blood trai- " Kreacher quailed at the look Harry gave him. "The Potter and Longbottom families and the werewolf Lupin. The Potters and Lupin come here twice a week for dinner; and Master Sirius takes the family to the Potters' house during weekends."

"Tell me more about the Potters," said Harry.

"Master James works in the Ministry of Magic. He works in the Advisory Office to Minister Bagnold. Mistress Lily works as an Unspeakable three days of the week. The boy-who-lived Jamie is close friends with Neville Longbottom and Miss Carina. The other Potter boy doesn't speak much – he doesn't come here - I do not know his name," Harry's nostrils flared and Kreacher. "Forgive me, master. I have not been told his name before. He doesn't come for dinner with the others."

There was a knock and the door opened immediately. Sirius Black stepped in. He looked around and raised an eyebrow in surprise at the lack of the portrait.

"Kreacher, where's my dear old mother?" he asked.

"Master Henry asked Kreacher to remove portrait because it was giving him a headache," said Kreacher. "So Kreacher sent it with the rest of the rubbish."

Sirius' eyes widened. For a moment, he appeared to tremble in shock and then he burst out laughing. "This is rich," he said jubilantly. When he finished laughing, he looked at Harry with remorse and said, "I'd like to apologise for my earlier behaviour."

Harry stared at the ground, and enjoyed the increasing guilt in his supposed uncle's face.

"You are too young to understand, Henry," began Sirius with more kindness than he had shown since St. Mungo's. He hesitated. "It's just that - my wife - you see - well, never mind."

"Aunt Gwenog doesn't want me here," Harry supplied helpfully.

Sirius started slightly at his sharp comment and nodded slowly. "Don't judge her harshly for that," he said. "She will come around, I hope. Until then, just stay out of her way and don't be upset if I speak to you harshly in front of her."

Harry nodded, beginning to understand the precarious situation Sirius was in. His wife was disappointed that someone else had usurped the title and estate that her son was supposed to inherit one day. Harry wondered how far she would go to secure her son's inheritance - would she perhaps try to stage an accident involving him? But then his gaze fell on Kreacher and he grinned. The house-elf wouldn't let that happen.

"It's okay," Harry told Sirius. "I've got Kreacher for company."

Harry was sitting in the Black library. The large room was an old-fashioned Georgian library with massive bookshelves arranged against the walls. A fire place roared with flames - the main source of light in the room - and Harry sat in front of it on a comfortable rug with a dozen books piled on the floor near him. Most of the books were for display to anyone who barged in. Basic books on elementary magical theory, history and Latin. But hidden in the pile would always be the one or two books that Harry was actually keen to read.

During his previous life, after the war against Voldemort he had mainly focussed on developing his duelling skills as he felt that was his only strength. But now given this opportunity, Harry began to read about the other more wondrous and fascinating areas of magic. The book he was presently reading was about wards.

Wards were essentially a field of magic that would remain independent of the caster's continuous presence and protect the inside from what it was designed to protect. It belonged to a class of magic described in the book as Spells with Protective Potential. Level 1 SPP included the most basic protective spells such as an ordinary shield and conjuring barriers. Level 2 SPP included more advanced shields and some ordinary wards. The Levels increased to number 10, which were the strongest three wards that could be used. To Harry's surprise, it didn't include blood wards, which were a Level 7 SPP. Even the wards surrounding Hogwarts, which were based on a specific conjunction of the moon and the planet with three other stars and could not be breached unless the same alignment was achieved, was a Level 8 SPP. The strongest three in Level 10 were referred to by special names - Nakor's Ward, the Shield of Heracles and the Crystal Caves.

"That's an interesting collection of books."

The book slipped from Harry's fingers and he jumped up, startled by the gentle interruption from behind him. He turned around and nearly gasped. Even without having met her, he knew who stood before him - Lily Potter. She smiled at him gently, making his insides turn to jelly.

"A bit above your level, aren't they?" she asked, as she joined him on the rug. She picked up a book - Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1. "You'll do this in Hogwarts in your first year." She laughed lightly when she realized that the boy had been staring at her without blinking, and the sound was very melodious to Harry. "I'm sorry, Henry, I should have introduced myself. I'm Lily Potter, your Uncle Sirius and Aunt Gwenog's close friend. You can call me Aunt Lily or Mrs. Potter, whichever you prefer."

Harry nodded.

"We arrived an hour ago and Sirius told us about you. I came to see what was keeping you in the library. Do you want to come out and play with Neville and Jamie? They are the same age as you."

Harry frowned, wondering why her other son was left out. But he had no other option but to nod and stand up. He followed Lily out of the library and joined the rest of the family and guests in the living room.

"Finally!" James Potter welcomed him with a wide smile. "The prodigal heir returns."

Harry noted how Gwenog's expression darkened at those words and he tried his best to smile. He was introduced by a slightly aloof Sirius to Lily and James, Frank Longbottom, Alice Longbottom, Remus Lupin, and then to the two children - Jamie Potter and Neville Longbottom. Harry observed the twin brother of his alternate-self with interest. Jamie didn't have any scar on his forehead or anywhere else visible. In all, he seemed a very normal kid, with a streak of mischief, if Harry could read anything from the smile on his face.

In fact, the Potters appeared to be a very decent family. Lily was nice and gentle. James was jovial and friendly. Their son Jamie appeared as mischievous as a Marauder-spawn ought to be. Harry just couldn't realize why they didn't treat the fourth member of their family as such; why they neglected him to such an extent that he was driven to Death Eaters and ultimately to an abyss deeper than Voldemort himself.

"Come on!" said Jamie. "Let's go find Carina!" He rushed towards the stairs to go upstairs. Harry hesitated as he wasn't permitted to go upstairs. He looked at Sirius.

"Jamie, why don't you go upstairs and fetch Carina while Harry and Neville get acquainted with each other?" Gwenog cut in. "There's no real need for all three of you to barge up."

Harry pretended to sigh in resignation, a motion he was certain was picked up by some of the other adults in the room. He followed Neville out of the living room to the den. They took a couch each.

"So, you're Henry Black?"

Harry nodded. He decided to let his seven year old instinct take charge. "Do you want cookies?" he asked keenly, and Neville looked at him hopefully. "Kreacher," Harry called out. "Can we have some chocolate chip cookies?"

"At once, Master Henry!" Kreacher vanished, and returned momentarily with a plate filled with cookies.

"Wow!" Neville was impressed. "He has never been so polite to Carina or Uncle Sirius or Aunt Gwenog; and she is - well, she's very strict and gives clear orders, but Kreacher never obeys so easily and always looks for a way to do mischief."

Harry smiled mystically. But he was saved from explaining as the door opened and Jamie and Carina entered the den. Carina looked joyfully at Harry and leapt on the couch next to him. Harry was slightly surprised; in the three days he had been living in Grimmauld Place, the girl had kept herself away from him. He was fairly certain Gwenog had told her to stay away from him, and she took this moment with the guests present to get acquainted with her cousin.

"Cousin Henry, how's your stay been so far?" she asked politely, and Harry smiled at her formal tone.

"It's been very good, Cousin Carina," he matched her formal tone. "Thank you for asking."

The other two boys looked from Harry to Carina with befuddled expressions. Carina ignored them, and to Harry's surprise, her lips quivered as if she was about to start crying; and then she dropped the formality and grabbed him in a crushing hug. "You must hate me!" she wailed against his ears. "But it isn't my fault. Mummy told me not to speak to you more than necessary and she gets very angry when someone doesn't listen to her. I wanted to -"

"It's okay, cousin," Harry patted her back awkwardly, while turning to the other boys for help, but they were laughing at his predicament. "I'm glad you do care."

"And papa tells me not to cross mummy because then he has to suffer her bad moods," she continued as if he hadn't said a word. "But he told me I could speak with you if I managed to do so without getting mummy upset. Papa's not that mean, you know, he feels very guilty about all this."

"Carina, it's okay!" Harry said a bit more firmly. He parted from her grasp and took a deep breath. "Air, that's what I needed."

Jamie laughed out. "If you think she's bad, wait till you meet Mrs. Weasley!"

"Oh, I have met her," said Harry. "Mr. Weasley helped me find Uncle Sirius." He pretended to hesitate. "I'm sorry, Jamie." He hesitated again. "Kreacher told me you had a brother. Why isn't he here?"

The mood immediately dampened - at least, for Jamie, while Neville and Carina seemed oblivious to it completely. "He has poor health and misses out on a lot," said Jamie, and Harry could tell without having to use Legilimency that it was a lie.

Harry let the topic go at that. The children proceeded to play games with magical toy soldiers that actually fought each other viciously. At one point, when Jamie's axe-wielding warrior hacked the head off of Carina's knight-in-shining-armour, she was traumatized and crept towards Harry. Harry rolled his eyes and allowed her back into his embrace.

"It fixes on its own when the game is over," Harry told her consolingly, patting her dark hair. "And you!" Harry turned to the offending figurine. "You needn't have been so brutal. Just for that -" He turned to his pack of three werewolves. "Get him, boys!" The werewolves charged forward and destroyed the axe-wielding warrior. Harry turned to Carina and patted her back. "See? He's gone now." But the brutality of the werewolves only made the girl even more upset and she clung to Harry even more tightly.

"Let's maybe play something else for awhile," Jamie suggested, while sharing a grin with Neville.

Neville stood up. "I hear Aunt Lily's voice. It's dinner time."

Harry allowed the two boys to go first while he cleared up the pieces and Carina helped him in silence. He looked at the girl tenderly before they headed out and touched her cheek. "It's okay, Carina. You don't have to be so upset about avoiding me. I understand."

"Thanks, Cousin Henry," she grinned at him. Her earlier hysteria forgotten.


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Henry hesitated before knocking.

A voice came from inside, telling him to come in. Henry pushed the door open and walked inside Sirius Black's study, which was near the library. The candle had nearly burnt to the bottom and Henry knew that Sirius had been working hard for the past few days.

"Henry," Sirius acknowledged him. "What can I do for you?"

"Mrs. Potter invited me to their home for Christmas weekend," said Henry. "Can I go?"

Sirius frowned. He looked from Henry back to the documents in front of him and sighed. "We're taking a separate holiday this year to France," he said. "I suppose Carina told you about it."

Henry nodded. He allowed a faint hint of hurt to creep into his expression - as if he were trying hard to prevent it but it still was altogether too much for him to fully mask.

"Yes, I think it best if you stay with the Potters for the weekend," agreed Sirius finally. He rubbed his forehead. He was about to return to his work when he realized his nephew was still waiting. "What else?"

"It's just - it's just that - I don't have any presents for them or any money to buy -" Henry allowed his cheeks to turn a tinge of red in embarrassment.

"I should have thought of this before," Sirius nodded. "I'll give you twenty galleons a month as pocket-money. That's forty galleons since your arrival, plus ten more as Christmas bonus. That should be sufficient. You may go to the local shops down the road on your own, just notify Kreacher; but if you wish to go to Diagon Alley, let me know and I will arrange an escort for you."

"Can I go tomorrow?" asked Henry.

Sirius nodded. "Remus has some work in the Alley. I'm sure he'll be glad to take you with him."

The next morning, Henry trotted behind Remus Lupin as a quiet observer while the man bought various potions ingredients from an apothecary. The ingredients, Henry recalled, were used for the original inferior Wolfsbane potion. This was the variety that only allowed a werewolf to retain his mind; later varieties as researched by a collaborative effort between Luna Scamander, Rolf Scamander and Teddy Lupin were able to completely negate the effect of the full moon on a werewolf, allowing them to live a completely normal life on the day itself.

"Mr. Lupin, can I ask you a personal question?" Henry asked curiously.

"Please do," said Remus.

"Uncle Sirius is an Auror, Mr. Potter works for the Minister and Mr. Longbottom is a wizard solicitor. What do you do for a living?" Kreacher had already told him but Henry knew it would be a good point to direct the conversation to his ultimate aim.

Remus chuckled. "Interesting question. Why do you ask that?"

Henry blushed slightly. "It's just that you always seem to be in muggle suits whereas the others are in wizard robes. I was just curious what other jobs people could have in the magical world."

"I don't work in the magical world," admitted Remus. "I have a condition which makes it hard for me to secure employment here. But with Sirius and James' help, I managed to find employment in a muggle financial services company. I am a portfolio manager for high net worth clients."

"What does that mean?" Henry asked in confusion. He knew what that meant but the average nine year old wouldn't.

Remus smiled. "Well. We take people's money and invest - that is, we use the money in a number of ways - think of them as bets on how much money other shops and businesses will make - and we get back more than what we started with if we win those bets. We keep a bit of this extra money and return the rest to the people when they want it back."

"So," said Henry. "If I gave you twenty-five galleons, you could make it a whole lot more?"

Remus chuckled at the boy's keen interest. "It's becoming harder these days," said Remus. "The economy - that term refers to the whole money business - is going through a rough time. It might be difficult to even return the original amount of money back to the people who gave it." He smiled ruefully at Henry. "Hold on to your galleons, Henry. Gold is always safe."

Henry hesitated. "But it's all a bet, isn't it? If you lose money by betting one way, you could have made more by betting the other way!"

Remus nodded at the young kid's apparent insight. "I can't fault with that logic," he admitted. "But who would have bet that the tortoise would beat the hare in a race."

'One who had glimpsed into the future and seen the end-result,' Henry thought to himself. "But, Mr. Lupin. If I do give you some money and ask you to make a bet in the money market for me?" He looked at Remus pleadingly. "Please," he begged.

"I don't know," said Remus. "There's a minimum amount of a thousand pounds that needs to be invested in the muggle world." He quailed at the boy's enthusiasm. "Luckily, the magical world has a much lower requirement of fifty galleons."

Henry feigned disappointment, he knew Remus Lupin very well. "I only have fifty. I was planning to spend half of it on presents."

Remus sighed. "Very well, Henry. I will put another twenty-five galleons of my own money in the pot. Let's see how you handle a small dose of investment. Here's the deal. I give you twenty-five galleons and expect a profit of five galleons. One year from now, I will claim thirty galleons from you, and if your investment falls short, you will have to pitch in from your pocket-money. Deal?"

Henry smiled and nodded. He knew Remus would never claim the money from him and was giving him a lesson in responsibility. But it was important for the man to develop a trust in his intuition. "Nimbus Racing Broom Company," said Henry, and almost expected the look of disappointment from Remus.

"The first thing about investment, Henry, is to disregard all personal prejudices and look at the market objectively - that it, in a fair and unbiased manner. Just because a person likes a particular kind of product does not make it the best investment."

"I am being objective and fair!" Henry protested. "If you look at the past twenty years of the company's products; they have introduced a new broom every four years. The next one should be this coming year. I am betting that it will be rated the best broom in the world."

Remus' eyes widened at Henry's logic. He whistled in amusement. "You might have something there," he said keenly. "I will look into it." He hesitated. "How confident are you?"

"Very."

"Confident enough to place a higher bet?" asked Remus. Henry nodded eagerly. "Here's the deal. Instead of twenty-five galleons, I'll throw in a full hundred. In a year, I'll collect a hundred and twenty from you, regardless of your actual profit or loss, and you will have to make good this return. You can tell me to remove the money from Nimbus at any time during this year. Deal?"

"Deal." This time Henry shook hands with Remus.

Then, he spent the next hour shopping for the Potters. Remus was a big help in finding a scarf for Lily, a muggle joke-book for James, a box of chocolate frogs for Jamie.

"What about Harry?" asked Henry curiously. "I haven't met him, but he'll be there, won't he? I should get him something."

Remus started. He hesitated. "I suppose," he said finally. But Henry could tell that Remus himself was not going to get Harry Potter anything. Once again, he was dumbfounded. The Remus Lupin here didn't seem altogether that much different from the Remus Lupin in his previous life - in fact, he was more confident, self-assured, had less insecurities, and seemed much more professional in every capacity. Why was everyone so anti-Harry Potter.

But Henry knew better to pursue that line of questioning just yet and decided to buy a book that he himself had thoroughly enjoyed when Hermione had loaned it to him - The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien.

Saying goodbye to the Black family was a bittersweet moment for Henry. Carina had really been growing on him. Her softness and tendency to look to him as an older brother had won her a warm place in his heart. He knew she was extremely gutted to be going on vacation without him but she also wouldn't provoke her mother's fury by saying a word against it. He waved at her as they left through the floo with their suitcases.

Sirius was the last to leave. "James or Lily will come to fetch you within the hour," he said. He paused. "Be at your best behaviour when you're with them and - Merry Christmas." He gave a rare grin to his nephew.

"You too," Henry shot back.

Henry sat in the living room. Kreacher came before him. "That locket my father gave you, is it destroyed?" asked Henry casually.

Kreacher's eyes widened and he let out a loud wail, and then he started banging his head against the wall in self-punishment. "Kreacher is a bad elf. Kreacher has not been able to destroy the locket. Kreacher has failed Master Regulus. Kreacher has failed -"

"Kreacher, I'm ordering you to stop this!" Henry yelled over the noise of the house-elf. "Now listen. This has gone for far too long. You will behave like a proper pureblood house-elf, do you understand? Punishment is a master's right, not an elf's choice. When you punish yourself, you take away my right to punish you." He gazed at the house-elf with a pretence of utmost shock. "You insult me…"

Kreacher's eyes widened and he was aghast at his own actions. "Kreacher is a bad elf. Kreacher is a wretched elf. Kreacher is -"

Henry slapped his forehead in self-pity. "Stop this!" he repeated, and wondered how long it would take to re-train Kreacher into the paradigm of perfection and efficiency he had become in his previous life. "You are a house-elf of the Most Noble House of Black. When you insult yourself, you insult the House of Black. I will not have you do that. Do you understand?'

"Yes, Master Henry," said Kreacher meekly. "No punishment, no insults."

"What else have I told you?"

"No vulgar words. No insulting of guests. No hiding of Miss Carina's dolls. No turning on cold water when Master Sirius is in shower. No making faces to little Master Eridanus."

"Good," said Henry kindly, reaching forward to pat Kreacher's head. "See. You have it in you to become a good house-elf, Kreacher. You just have to try harder."

"Kreacher will try harder, Master Henry," vowed Kreacher resolutely. He looked over Henry's shoulder. "Good afternoon and welcome to the Most Noble and Ancient House of Black. Master Sirius is not at home; Master Henry has been awaiting your arrival."

Henry jumped around and saw an amused Lily and James Potter stare at him with open mouths. He groaned, they must have come in when the elf was beating his head against the wall. That would have drowned the sound of their arrival.

"You should start a house-elf training school!" said James. "I most certainly will enrol our Weepy!"

Henry groaned. "Let me guess. She weeps a lot?"

Lily nodded, still amazed by the changes made by the boy to the Black house-elf. "You ready?" she asked Henry, who nodded and motioned towards a trunk in the room. He got up and started towards the trunk.

"Allow me," said James, and passed through the floo with the trunk.

"Jamie is very excited," said Lily; once again Henry was disappointed by the lack of mention of her other son. "We all are. Come on. Go ahead first. The address is Godric's Hollow."

Henry took a deep breath on seeing Godric's Hollow. The house was beautiful. It had been decorated with exquisite delicacy in a mix of muggle and magical furnishings. He stepped forward and smiled, slightly ruing the fact that he hadn't grown up in this house; when he realized the pitiful state of _the _Harry Potter who was growing up in this house.

"Henry! You made it!" Jamie was delighted.

"Of course, I did," Henry retorted. "What's the worst that could have happened in grabbing a handful of floo powder and saying Godric's Hollow? It's not as if I'd end up in Knockturn Alley."

Jamie grinned. "Come on," he said. "I'll show you to your room."

Henry followed after Jamie up the stairs into a landing. For a brief moment, Henry thought he saw the door furthest along the corridor open a tiny crack. But then his attention was drawn by Jamie who dragged him to a room.

"This is the smaller guest room," said Jamie. "The bigger one is for Uncle Remus. He'll join us for dinner tomorrow night. Come on."

Henry followed Jamie back downstairs where James and Lily were having a minor argument. On seeing the boys approach, they stopped and smiled. Henry could tell that both smiles were extremely forced.

"You must be starving!" Lily declared and rushed to the kitchen.

James simultaneously moved. He looked apologetically at the two boys. "I hate to do this," he said. "Jamie, Dr. Heller has rescheduled your dental appointment. We have to go now. He is busy the whole of next week."

"What!" Jamie exclaimed. "But da-ad!" he whined, looking at his new friend.

"I'm sorry, son," James said apologetically. "You'll be back in less than an hour."

Henry grinned at the arguing duo as they left through the floo and turned around to see Lily bring in a plate of mixed cookies and muffins.

"Help yourself," she said. Henry didn't need a second invitation and promptly picked up a chocolate chip cookie. "How's the amnesia coming?" she asked. "Any recollection."

Henry shook his head. "Absolutely blank."

Lily nodded sympathetically. "I work part-time as an Unspeakable and we have encountered cases where memories retract to such depths that not even Legilimency can bring them back. They usually involve excessive exposure to the Crucia… well… to certain kinds of magic." She paled slightly. "But the healer said your amnesia was from a head wound, right?" she asked seriously.

Henry knew what was suddenly bothering her - the possibility that he had lost his memories after excessive exposure to the Cruciatus Curse or Dementors. "That's what he said," said he. "A mind healer tried searching my mind for nearly thirty minutes -"

"Ouch," said Lily. "That must have hurt."

"The headache made me lose consciousness," admitted Henry. "I was glad Mr. Weasley was around to help me."

Lily smiled. "The Weasleys are very decent people," she said. "Some of the best I know."

Henry hesitated. "Can I have a look at your library?" he asked. "Mr. Lupin said you had more books on SPP than the Black library."

Lily looked at him with wide eyes. "The term Spells with Protective Potential is something that not even a Hogwarts fifth year student would use with as much alacrity as you just did," she smiled. "Come on, little Ravenclaw." She led the fast approaching ten year old to the library.

The library itself was smaller and less authentically Georgian as the Black library, but Henry could see that the collection itself wasn't much less impressive. A pity that most of these rare books were destroyed in his previous reality. Books such as with the Black and Potter families and certain other purebloods were rare to get in modern stores. In fact, he had come to realize towards the later part of his previous life that any decent book that was in existence could be found in the Hogwarts great library or in the personal collections of the hundred most prominent pureblood families in the countries.

"I'll leave you here then and prepare dinner," said Lily. "Call me if you need anything." She paused. "Or better still, call Weepy and - well - use the same magic as you did with Kreacher."

Henry blushed, and Lily left with a chuckle. He scanned the shelves, impressed by the collection, and picked up a book titled 'Arcane Arts, Volume VII: Wards, Shields and Protection'. He had barely finished the first page when he heard the door slowly open. He raised his head and had his first glimpse of Harry Potter.

Harry's eyes widened like a deer caught in the headlights and he froze.

"Hello," said Henry, observing the boy. He looked healthy, if just a bit on the scrawny side. "Harry Potter?"

Harry nodded. "I - I didn't know anyone was in. I'll come later."

"Hold on," said Henry. He smiled pleasantly. "There's no reason why we both can't stay in the library. I'm Henry Black." He stood up and walked towards Harry, who appeared extremely discomfited by Henry's actions. Henry held his hand out. "You want to join me?"

Harry gaped at the extended hand for several seconds before taking it. "I came to get a book. I'm not supposed to - I'm supposed to stay in my room -" He looked confused and very troubled. He hastily walked to a bookshelf and replaced a book and picked up a new one.

Henry noted that Harry had just done with 'Hogwarts: A History, Volume III' and was about to start on 'Hogwarts: A History, Volume IV'.

'At least, someone will be able to stay at par with Hermione this year,' thought Henry with amusement. "Nice meeting you, Harry." He smiled warmly.

Harry turned to Henry with surprise, trying to pierce through his words, but finding no guile, returned the smile.

'Odd,' thought Henry, as he returned to his chair and turned his attention back to the text.

The reading was not to last for long as Jamie returned and he led Henry to his room to play with magical toy soldiers again. Truth be told, Henry loved playing with those. Despite the knowledge and memories he possessed, he was still a child in every way that mattered and playing was fun.

"Right," said Jamie, opening the box. "I have a more interesting box than Carina. We pick a soldier in turns?" Henry nodded. "I'm calling shotgun on the Hungarian Horntail." A miniature figurine of a ferocious dragon flew from the box towards Jamie. "Your turn."

Henry looked inside the box. The figurines were looking at him expectantly, some were flexing their muscles, while others were swinging their weapons in a bid to impress him.

"You," Henry pointed to a knight-in-shining-armour.

Jamie was delighted by Henry's choice and immediately picked an axe-warrior, relying on the previous game they had where Jamie's axe-warrior had defeated Carina's knight. Henry picked a centaur with a bow. Jamie picked a goblin. Henry picked a werewolf. Jamie picked another goblin. Henry picked another werewolf. Jamie picked another goblin. Henry picked another werewolf. Jamie picked a sword-man. Henry picked another centaur. Jamie picked another sword-man. Henry picked another werewolf. Jamie picked a muscled brawler. Henry picked a goblin.

"Okay, let's start with eight for now," said Jamie excitedly. "You go first since I picked the dragon."

"Very noble of you," Henry muttered. "You two," he pointed to the centaurs. "Aim for the Horntail's eyes. Make him blind." The centaurs and dragon stepped into the middle and started attacking each other; the centaurs managed to take an eye off before they were incinerated, at which point they vanished and reformed in the box but out of the game.

"My turn!" Jamie yelled. "Goblins! Attack the knight!"

The three goblins trotted towards the knight-in-shining-armour, who braced himself - shield and lance ready. It was a bloody battle - and mid-way through it, to Harry's shock and chagrin, his own goblin reneged and joined the others in attacking the knight.

"Not fair," Henry protested, but the knight held his ground. It was a tough battle. But at its end, three goblins were lying prone on the floor and one was brutally injured. The knight was relatively unharmed.

"Ha!" said Henry. "Take that! Finish the dragon's good eye, Sir Knight, and claim eternal glory!"

The knight charged towards the dragon, moving his horse with amazing precision to avoid the small balls of fire. He threw the lance with perfect aim, and it pierced the dragon's other eye. But a fireball connected and the knight was incinerated.

"Aw," Jamie was disappointed when his dragon became virtually useless for the rest of the battle. But he was pleased when he surveyed the remaining troops. Jamie had an axe-warrior, two sword-men and a muscled brawler, while Henry was left with just three werewolves. "All in?" asked Jamie, and Henry nodded. "Charge!" he yelled.

"Charge!" Henry returned. He grinned when the werewolves worked better as a charging team than Jamie's medley of warriors. They first took off the axe-man. But the two sword-men made good battle, which lasted nearly a minute. Finally, the battle ended with just the brawler remaining on his feet. He hadn't delivered a single hit, other than to kick a dead werewolf in its gut.

The brawler raised his hand and claimed victory.

"That was close!" Jamie sighed in relief. "Don't tell Neville I nearly lost even with the Horntail and the axe-man."

"I won't," promised Henry. "You did well until the end. Instead of charging with all of them, you should have sent the brawler out as bait for my werewolves, while the other three remained defensive and attacked from behind."

Jamie nodded, accepting the suggestion. "Yes, that would have worked better." He grinned. "Another one?"

Henry nodded. This was much more fun than chess.

That night, the whole family sat down for dinner. Lily introduced Harry to Henry, and both pretended that they hadn't met earlier during the day. But other than that very little conversation was directed at Harry. After dinner, Lily turned to Harry sternly and asked, "Have you taken your medicines?"

"Yes, mum," said Harry quietly.

"Go to bed, then," she finished.

Harry opened his mouth to protest but a quailing look from his father later, he rushed upstairs without saying a single word.

Later in the night, Henry returned to the library when everyone had gone to sleep. He pushed the door open and nearly gasped at seeing Harry crouched in a corner, reading a book at candlelight. He grinned at the polar opposite roles of the two of them from the earlier incident.

"Hey," Henry whispered.

"Hey," said Harry. "Do you want me to leave?"

"Why would I?" asked Henry.

Harry shrugged. "Nobody else likes my company."

Henry didn't respond. He retrieved the book he had been reading and propped himself on the floor next to Harry. "You looking forward to Hogwarts?"

"Yes!" said Harry. For the first time, a hint of jubilation entered his voice. "I really am!"

Henry recalled the flashing images he had seen in the Realm Between the Worlds. Harry wanted to free himself from the oppressive atmosphere at home and enter a new world. But things had only gotten worse - a Potter in Slytherin. He had been lonelier and more despised than ever before.

"Do you know that the wards surrounding Hogwarts aren't really that powerful?" continued Henry when he realized Harry was waiting for him to say something.

"But 'Hogwarts: A History, Volume I' says that Rowena Ravenclaw and Salazar Slytherin made the wards unbreakable!" Harry protested. "It's said to be the most powerful ward known to man."

"That's correct," admitted Henry. "But in the past, there were other more powerful wards. The knowledge to create them is lost. One of them was a shield used by Hercules against the son of Aries."

"I've got a chocolate frog of the great warrior Aries!" Harry said excitedly. "He was one of the twelve great Olympian Sorcerers!" His eyes gleamed with wonder. "Do you know Aries fought against -"

So began an hour long conversation between the two about the ancient Greek Sorcerers, which as expected, ended in an intense debate on who would win a duel between Aries and Zeus. Finally, Harry conceded that Zeus had defeated far superior enemies and hence had shown himself to be more powerful, although Aries was the more skilled in battle magic and military strategies.

"Tell me more about the shield you mentioned earlier," said Harry, after a while.

Henry smiled. "Better still," he got up, and picked a basic book on defensive magic. "Here. Read this first. It will be more useful than 'Hogwarts: A History'. I'll see you tomorrow night?" asked Henry curiously.

Harry nodded eagerly. "Yeah. Goodnight," he called out.

Saturday was Christmas Eve and the entire family sat around the Christmas tree and sang carols and watched - even Harry, although he remained very still, almost as if he were in pain. It wasn't until later that night when Henry sneaked out to leave his own stack of presents for the Potter family that it clicked to him why Harry appeared so uneasy. Of the presents below the tree, there were nearly half a dozen for Jamie but only a single for Harry, and by the texture of it, the present was a new shirt or some similar piece of clothing. Jamie, on the other hand, had, among other things, a new broom. In fact, there were more presents with Henry's name than Harry's. One was distinctly from Sirius and Carina, another from the Potters, and a third had his name with Remus' handwriting.

Henry sighed. He just couldn't understand what was everyone's problem with Harry. He placed his own presents amongst the pile and headed towards the library. He paused when he saw Harry huddled in his corner rubbing his eyes, as if he had been crying.

"Harry," Henry walked towards him. "What's wrong?" He had an inkling that Harry had seen the stack below the tree as well.

"Nothing," said Harry. He wiped his face with his sleeves and forced a smile. "I read that book halfway through. It was very interesting. I liked how the writer explains magic while telling stories of battles." He hesitated. "But he keeps using this phrase again and again to scold characters in the book that I don't understand -"

Henry knew what was coming. "Dulce bellum inexpertis," he said before Harry could tell him. "It's Latin. I've been teaching myself Latin in the Black library. It means 'war is sweet to those who have never fought'."

Harry frowned thoughtfully. "But why would he say that?"

Henry was about to answer when he suddenly felt something - a presence near them. He hesitated. Somebody was standing right behind Harry in an Invisibility Cloak. He dared not use Legilimency to detect who was there for fear that one or both of James and Lily might know Occlumency. He pretended to think on Harry's question, while actually assessing the situation. So one of the Potters actually spent time in secrecy with their neglected child without him knowing. But for what purpose?

"Beats me," said Henry afterwards. "Maybe because he's annoyed with people who want to act brave and go to war when there's really no need."

"Like Gryffindors," Harry interjected. He thought for a moment. "I think what it means is that one must try every other option before fighting."

Henry couldn't deny it. "Perhaps," he tried to sound bored. "Which house do you want to get sorted into?"

"Anywhere but Gryffindor!" Harry said passionately.

"Why not Gryffindor?" asked Henry curiously. "I mean, that's where your parents were, and Gryffindor's most likely where Jamie will also go." Harry turned red slightly and Henry knew he had hit the exact reason why the boy wanted to avoid the house. "Well, I'm personally more keen on Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff."

"Why Hufflepuff?" asked Harry curiously.

"Uncle Sirius slipped it one night over dinner," Henry pretended to blush slightly, it was more for the benefit of the invisible adult to remove any suspicions from the mature discussion earlier. "Hufflepuff is closest to the kitchens... will be easy to sneak out and get a midnight snack."

Harry laughed. Then he looked surprised at his own laughter. "You'll be sorted before me," said Harry. "I hope I can get into the same house as you." Reddening a bit, he explained. "You're the first person I know who likes talking to me."

Henry was angry with the Potters. It would have been much easier if they were nasty and horrible people. Then he could completely disassociate with them and take over Harry's progress. But he liked the Potters and he wanted to get close to them; their terrible treatment of Harry was shameful and he wanted to know the reasons behind it. However, the most important task was to obtain Harry's complete trust.

"Can you keep a secret?" asked Henry suddenly. Harry leaned forward eagerly. "Aunt Gwenog doesn't like me. She doesn't allow Carina to talk to me unless Jamie and Neville are there, and because of her Uncle Sirius also avoids me most of the time." Henry saw understanding and empathy in Harry's face. "That's why I started spending so much time in the library."

"Me too -" began Harry but he stopped. "That is, I like spending time in the library too." He sighed. "I want to go to Hogwarts!" he said dolefully and got up. "I'm going to bed now. You staying here?"

Henry nodded, pointing at the book in his lap. He turned the pages and began reading after Harry left. Soon after, he felt the invisible presence also leave the library. About ten minutes later, the library door opened again. Henry turned around, feigning shock and guilt, when he saw Lily Potter's face. She had a sleepy expression, but Henry could tell her eyes were puffed up for other reasons.

"Oh, it's you, Henry. I came for a sip of water and saw a light. You should go to bed. It's Christmas morning tomorrow," said Lily. He got up apologetically and walked out of the library with Lily. Before entering his room, Lily whispered to him. "Thanks for buying all the presents, you needn't have, but thank you very much."

Henry assumed her gratitude was directed at him getting something for the forgotten Potter.

Christmas morning was a bittersweet experience for Henry. It was a full house with the Potters, Henry and Remus; and the Longbottoms joined them after breakfast. Henry had seen the delight in Harry's face at the gift he had bought for him and he had started reading immediately after breakfast when it was evident that Jamie and Neville were going to try out their new brooms.

Henry hadn't received a broom either. The Potters had given him a big box of assorted sweets - enchanted to refill every week for a full month. Sirius and Carina had sent him a book about native druids and their magic from ancient Gaul. Remus had given him a book on investment for beginners and his recently purchased share certificate.

"I am impressed, Henry," said Remus. "Nimbus announced the launch of a new broom in January and the share-price has risen, although it could go up a lot more. If you pull out now, you'll make enough to pay me back and a few galleons on top."

"I want to wait," said Henry. "Surely, it will go higher when the broom actually comes out."

"There are rumours that the new Nimbus 2000 might be a dud," he explained. "If the rumours are correct, then you risk losing all of this profit. If they aren't, then you might make a lot more."

"It's a bet," agreed Henry. "I'd like to wait."

Remus accepted his decision.

James looked from Remus to Henry with interest. "Have things become so bad that you are taking money from children, Moony?" he joked.

"This child," Remus nodded at Henry, "might have detected a very simple trend in one of the most successful broom companies before anyone else. I put in one thousand galleons of my own money in Nimbus and removed it on Friday afternoon, making three hundred galleons profit."

"I think you missed out on a real killing," said Henry.


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Henry read the newspaper.

His words to the Remus and James were vindicated when the broom finally hit the markets and was rated the "most impressive wizard-made thing in the sky". Every invested galleon rose to two but Henry still refused to pull out. Around July, Nimbus announced a new broom, Nimbus 2001, would be introduced in exactly one year. The share price rose even higher but Henry was not convinced.

"That's too fast!" Henry argued with Remus in Grimmauld Place over breakfast. "There must have been a real reason why they took four years before every new broom. A year is too fast. I want to clear my long position and go short."

Remus and Sirius exchanged looks with each other. Sirius was smiling at his nephew's use of proper investment terminology, while Remus was rubbing his forehead in consternation.

"All the experts are predicting further rise, Henry," Remus argued. "I'll pull out your profits but I'm not sure if going short is wise."

Henry pretended not to hear. He was scribbling on a notepad. "My total returns will be 518 galleons, of which I owe you 120, that leaves me 398. Cool. I want to stay short for 1000 galleons and clear my position just before end of my second year in Hogwarts. I'm predicting that my short-position will earn me a profit well over 700 galleons." In his mind, he corrected himself with the actual figures, '908.'

"On one condition," said Remus. "Your current profits, half of your pocket-money until you clear your position, and the 1000 galleons you obtain upfront by going short will be kept in a vault in Gringotts, not to be touched until your short-position is cleared."

Henry considered the condition. "That's fair," he agreed. After all, Remus was already doing the trades for Henry in his own account and plenty more to accommodate his whims, his interest in making sure he wasn't overexposed to the extent of having to cover Henry's losses was fair. "But that leaves me with very little for Neville, Jamie and Harry's birthdays, and I wanted to buy a pet before Hogwarts."

"Getting a pet for you is my responsibility," said Sirius helpfully. "But presents for your friends will be from your own allowance." The relationship between Sirius and Henry was developing well, but only when Gwenog wasn't looking. Gwenog and Carina were away for the day, having gone to visit her family in Swansea and the three of them were having an all boys' day. Henry decided to go for the kill.

"Uncle Sirius, Mr. Lupin," he began seriously. "Can I ask you a serious question?" When both nodded, he pressed on, "What's wrong with Harry Potter? Jamie told me that he has poor health and that's why he's always left behind. But his health seems okay to me."

Both men froze. Sirius turned slightly pale and he rubbed his forehead.

Remus responded. "It's not to do with his physical health, Henry." He hesitated. "You're far too young to understand and even if you weren't, I'd rather not reveal his secret. The thing is, it's best for Harry Potter and everyone else, to stay a good distance from him."

"How can you say that?" Henry asked angrily. "He's just a boy."

Remus looked helplessly at Sirius.

Sirius shrugged helplessly. "Be that as it may, Harry Potter has a serious affliction. There is no doubt about it. I give you my word that nobody likes what's happening to him or around him," he said with such sincerity that Henry had no doubt he was telling the truth. "But the alternative could be much worse."

Henry nodded and let it go. There was no point in alienating people he was dependent on in the eyes of the law. "So what's the plan for today?"

"There's the double game, Cannons v Arrows and Wasps v United," said Sirius. "We're joining James and Jamie for a proper lads day. For dinner, we'll drop by the curry-house."

"Ugh. Quidditch and curry... not again," Henry complained. Although he loved both, this was another opportunity to get to know Harry Potter better. "Didn't we just do that last week? Can you leave me with the Longbottoms or Mrs. Potter?"

"Sure," he said. "The Longbottoms are busy preparing for tomorrow's big party, so I'll leave you with Lily."

"Great!" said Henry, he got up from the table. "I'll get my box of magical warriors to play with Harry." He noted the dark look exchanged between Sirius and Remus but decided not to comment any further and ran to his room. He had bought it recently with his pocket-money, deciding to jump into the bandwagon.

A short while later, he was in the Potter living room with Lily and Harry. The others had left.

"I don't get you, Henry," said Lily. "I thought you enjoyed flying and Quidditch."

"I do," Henry agreed. "But I hate the crowded stands and rowdy fans. It's not worth it." He added, "And the curry afterwards..." he shuddered.

Lily laughed. She had heard the story of his struggle with a particularly hot dish. "What would you like for dinner, Henry?"

Henry turned to Harry. "What do you fancy?" Harry was surprised and turned to his mother in shock. Henry was pleased when Lily smiled at her son and nodded.

"Fish n chips?" asked Harry doubtfully, as if he was certain that would not be available.

"Fish n chips," agreed Lily; in a stricter tone, she added, "with broccoli, peas and carrots."

Henry noted how swiftly she left the room, overcome by guilt at the delighted expression on her son's face at this very simple act. "Come on," said Henry. "I want to try out this new box of magical soldiers. I picked each piece individually."

The two boys eagerly started playing on the rug. "Go on, pick the first," said Henry.

Harry grinned and peered inside the box. "I'll take that big green dragon." A Common Welsh Green flew from the box and settled in Harry's palm.

Henry sighed in his mind, he had to direct Harry to proper books on magical creatures. "The Welsh Green is the most docile of the lot," said he, but Harry didn't seem to mind his new minion. "I'll take the black chimera." A vicious creature scampered towards him.

"I'll take the other Welsh Green!" said Harry excitedly.

"The knight."

And so on it went. Henry observed with interest that Harry made use of the stories he had read in the books he had directed towards him to make battles. To defeat his chimera, Harry sent a couple of spear-men like Belerophon. When Henry sent archers to fight his dragon, Harry ordered his two Welsh Greens to dodge the arrows until they were all spent, leading to a stalemate - except Harry's archers were useless for the rest of the battle.

It was a well fought war, but Henry had the upper edge, with his sharper intellect and strategic mind from the memories of his previous life, and his experience with the game. By the end of it, he noted how happy Harry was despite losing every single round.

"Dinner's ready."

Henry had noticed once again that Lily had sneaked inside in the invisibility cloak to observe her son laugh and play with his new friend. In all, he realized that there was only one way to resolve his confusion - the prophecy. It had to be something to do with the prophecy. Henry decided to let things play out as they were; him developing relationships with all sides, especially Harry, while at the same time inducing small acts from Lily and others towards Harry that would make him more included.

"You coming to the Longbottoms' tomorrow, Harry?" asked Henry as he dug into his fish n chips.

Harry hesitated and turned to his mother.

Henry turned to Lily as well. "Please let him come, Mrs. Potter," he pleaded. "It will be real fun. Please."

Lily sighed. "All right," she said, turning to Harry. "But for a short while only. We will return at six sharp."

Harry grinned brightly and nodded gratefully.

"Who all are invited, Mrs. Potter?" asked Henry.

"Well, it's to introduce you lot to others starting at Hogwarts this year," said Lily. "The Weasleys have a son who's starting Hogwarts this year, Amelia Bones' niece, the Patil twins, the Turpins, the MacMillans, Baron Greengrass and his family. I think that's the lot."

"Sounds fun," said Henry.

The party was fun indeed. The Longbottoms had arranged for several attractions in their large estate. There were carnival rides, magic shows, all kinds of fun things to do. The children were having a blast while also getting to know each other better before the start of the term.

Henry, however, left the others and walked towards Arthur Weasley when the Weasley family arrived.

"Hello, young man," greeted Arthur when Henry approached him. He recalled Ron and Ginny from his previous memories and wondered if he would feel the same connection with them again.

"Good afternoon, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley," said Henry. He had met the man once after the initial encounter in Diagon Alley, when he had expressed his gratitude to him for his help. "How are you doing?"

"Very well, thank you, Henry," said Molly Weasley, leaning forward to give him a quick hug. She smiled. "And what's your name, young man?"

Henry turned around and saw Harry had also left the others and followed him.

He sounded very nervous at being asked a direct question. "H-Harry Potter, ma'am," he answered.

"He's my friend," supplied Henry. He held back a frown when he saw Molly's expression darken at the mention of Harry's name. She smiled politely at them and led her family away hastily. Henry saw that Harry had also caught the sudden change in mood.

"I just don't get it, Henry," Harry confessed. "What's wrong with me? You saw it, didn't you, with Mrs. Weasley?"

He sighed. "Come on," he said. "Let's join that girl there. She looks lonely."

Henry and Harry walked towards a girl who was eating candy floss on her own, away from the rest of the group. "Hey," Henry called out.

"Hi. I'm Susan Bones," she introduced herself. She observed them before saying, "The queue for the Boy Who Lived fan club is there."

Henry chuckled at her. "I'm Henry Black and this is Harry Potter. Harry lives with Jamie and gets more than enough of his brother; and I practically see him every other day. So we're not in awe of the almighty boy-who-lived. What happened back there?"

"Ernie MacMillan asked Jamie Potter how he defeated You Know Who," said Susan. "Jamie launched into this ridiculous story of how he sent a pure white light from his fingertips, which struck the Dark Lord like a bolt of lightning, and he went on and on - Parvati was looking at him like he was some sort of god, and then Jamie agreed to sign an autograph for her - and then the Weasley kids arrived and wanted autographs as well - that was when I left."

Henry sighed. He looked at the larger group and saw that Susan had it spot on. Jamie was enacting a fight, while Parvati, Ron, Ginny and Ernie were looking at him with devoted eyes. Parvati's sister Padma also stayed but her attention kept wavering from the boy saviour.

"Do you know who else is coming?" asked Susan.

Henry nodded. He looked around. "Most are here, I think it's just the Turpins and Greengrass left."

"Lisa and Daphne won't be coming," said Susan. "Lisa Turpin and Daphne Greengrass, I mean. Their families were invited to Malfoy Manor tonight and they're going there."

"Politics," Henry muttered, and Susan looked at him with a smile.

"That's what Aunt Amelia also said when I told her," said Susan. "I wanted to go with Lisa," she admitted. "She's the only girl I know who's starting Hogwarts this year but my aunt cannot publicly choose Malfoy over Longbottom."

"So -" Harry was getting bored of the political-direction of the talk. "Which house do you want to go into?"

"Hufflepuff, if I can," said Susan. "Or Slytherin."

"Slytherin?" asked Henry in shock. "Why would you want to go there?"

Susan looked slightly offended at his question. "It's where my aunt went. Honestly, it's the best place to go for career prospects."

Henry blinked. Why was a still-to-be-eleven year old worried about career and politics?

"My aunt doesn't want me to go to Gryffindor," she said. "They often end up doing the less well-paid jobs, and I don't think I qualify for Ravenclaw."

"That's not entirely true," Henry argued. "Uncle Sirius is very well-paid."

"But that's because of his Black heritage," Susan argued back. "The Blacks were always Slytherins before him."

"The Potters," Henry threw in. "James Potter is fast rising to be First Advisor to the Minister of Magic. Who knows, he could even run for the job himself! Mrs. Potter is an Unspeakable."

"Well, maybe not all of them do bad," Susan amended. "But generally, Gryffindors are less successful than the rest of the school. My aunt describes Gryffindors as lazy, ill-mannered, loud and brash -"

"Susan!"

Susan turned red when she saw her aunt and the Potters approach them. They appeared to have overheard the last fragment of their conversation.

James however found it very funny. "Spot on analysis, Miss Bones," he told her. "However, there's one more definition I would add to that list - 'mind-bogglingly charming'."

"In your dreams, Potter," Lily threw at him. "You were as charming as a flobberworm out of its tank in the middle of winter."

James spluttered. He looked mournfully at his wife for a moment before grinning widely and grabbing her by the waist. "I still got the girl, didn't I?"

"James!" Lily protested. "Stop it! The children!"

"I'm doing it for the children, dear," James shot back as he swept her in his arms and planted a quick kiss on her lips. "I have to defend the reputation of Gryffindor." He turned to Henry and Harry. "Moral of the story, boys, is this: a Gryffindor may very well be lazy, ill-mannered, loud and brash, but he always gets the girl in the end."

Henry smiled when James included Harry in giving his 'pearls of wisdom' and retorted. "We'll put that theory to test, Mr. Potter. I bet both Harry and I won't be in Gryffindor." He decided it was a good idea to break it to James nice and early so he didn't get a massive shock out of his son's sorting.

James was stunned. He turned from Henry to Harry and looked at his son intently. "Not in Gryffindor - why ever not?"

Harry fidgeted uneasily. He hesitated before using Henry's previous explanation. "Hufflepuff is closer to the kitchens. It will be easier to sneak out for a snack at night."

James froze. Then, he burst out laughing. "Well said, Harry," he smiled at his son, who flushed at his father's praise. "At this rate, you will most definitely be in Gryffindor, but I know better than to bet against Henry Black." He hesitated as if he wanted to say something else, but changed his mind. "It's time for you to go home, Harry. Your mother will leave with you."

Harry's expression changed from happiness to reluctant acceptance. He nodded obediently. "It was nice to meet you, Susan. I hope we both get into Hufflepuff. Goodbye, Madam Bones."

"Goodbye, dear," said Amelia, slightly surprised at the early departure. She turned to Lily. "Do you have to leave so early? The children only just arrived."

"Unfortunately, we must," said Lily. She hesitated before taking her son's hand. "Come, Harry. You can watch television at home if you want."

"Bye, Henry," said Harry dolefully and departed with his mother and the other adults.

Henry looked at Susan. "Do you want a glass of coke?"

"Juice," Susan voiced her opinion.

"Do you reckon we should join the others?" asked Henry after they had taken two glasses of soft drinks from the attending house-elf.

"If you want," said Susan. "I'm quite content here with you." She smiled at him.

Henry smiled back at her. Perhaps it wasn't just the Gryffindors who got the girls.

"What did Mr. Potter mean about betting against you?" asked Susan curiously. "If it's not something personal."

"It's not," Henry responded. "I've been asking a friend of my uncle and Mr. Potter to invest in companies for me. I've been doing well so far," he said proudly, as if trying to impress the ambitious little girl.

"Really?" asked Susan curiously. She sounded mildly impressed.

"Spotted Nimbus releasing a new broom and made every invested galleon into slightly more than four."

Susan smiled at him. She was impressed. "My aunt was talking about Nimbus last week," said she. "She's investing in it as well."

Henry shook his head. "It's a bad time to get in now," he said sagely. "I predict they will fall rock bottom in a year."

Susan was slightly riled up. "Well, I'm sure my aunt knows better than a eleven year old about business!"

"How about a bet, then?" Henry suggested. "If you're correct, I'll do anything you want me to. If I'm correct, you'll do something I want you to."

Susan hesitated.

"Not so confident about your auntie's skill after all, eh?" teased Henry.

"You're on!" said Susan sharply. "But the forfeit cannot be illegal, immoral or against any school rules."

"Deal," said Henry, shaking hands solemnly to seal their arrangement, while thinking to himself, 'Like stealing candy from a six-year old.'

The rest of the party was uneventful. They joined the others and Henry was slightly disappointed by how Jamie had begun to act in front of his naive admirers. At some point, his eyes met Neville's and he realized he wasn't the only one thinking that.

"So, the Malfoys scored a political victory over the Longbottoms," said Gwenog the next night over dinner.

Henry raised his head and saw Sirius sigh.

"You could put it like that," said Sirius. "Turpin and Greengrass snubbed Frank's invitation and accepted Malfoy's. Amelia Bones snubbed Malfoy and came to Frank's. It's a 2-1 on Malfoy's favour." He took a sip of his wine. "But I sincerely doubt Frank and Alice were planning to make this a political move. I believe they did it solely to introduce Neville to a group of children who will be in his year."

"It's still a snub," argued Gwenog. "Perhaps we should try to mend ties with Narcissa and Lucius." Her eyes fell on me. "We haven't yet introduced them to the next patriarch of the Black family."

Sirius didn't respond. He knew better than to argue with his wife in the dinner table, and more importantly, he had begun to realize that his nephew was fully capable of looking after himself.

"Henry, dear," said Gwenog in a very artificial cheery voice, "Wouldn't you like to meet your other cousin? Draco will be in your year as well."

Henry raised his head and met his aunt's eyes. He took a deep breath. Perhaps he could still create a relationship with her if he allowed her to think she could use him as a tool for her own ends. He let his eyes light up, as if he were pleased to get his aunt's attention. "I'd like that, Aunt Gwenog," he said. But just when Gwenog was about to change topics triumphantly, he added. "Can Carina come with me to Diagon Alley for my Hogwarts shopping tomorrow?" He saw Sirius hold back a grin and lean back to observe his wife's reaction.

Gwenog's expression changed. But as a medley of emotions crossed her face, she realized that her nephew had subtly, or perhaps not so subtly, made a condition that she could use him for improving her own social status provided she relaxed her restriction on the two cousins from associating.

After a long and troubled consideration during which Sirius continued chewing bits of his rare sirloin steak without any desire to interfere, she sighed. "Very well," she said. "I suppose it is time for Carina to get new robes. I will inform Madame Routledge to expect Carina tomorrow."

"Yay!" Carina cheered. "Thank you, mummy! You're the best!"

In retrospect, Henry regretted it.

" - and that is where daddy first bought me an ice-cream. It was butterscotch, my favourite. Come on, Cousin Henry!" Carina ran, and as she was clutching tightly to Henry's wrist, he had no choice but to run with her. The girl had been jumping all over the alley excitedly, giving Henry a detailed account of every moment she had spent in the Alley.

"Two butterscotch ice-creams," Henry called out, after catching his breath. "Cones, please." He paid for it before Remus could join them.

"Carina, you know better than to leave my sight!" Remus rebuked her lightly. "Now, let go of your poor cousin's hand and don't drag him around -"

"It's okay, Mr. Lupin," Henry quickly cut in before Remus' scolding upset Carina too much. He knew she was acting like that because they were finally doing some cousin-things together instead of having to avoid each other all the time. He put an arm around her protectively. "We're bonding."

Carina looked at him adoringly and then reached for the ice-cream that was being served. "Mmm!" she moaned in delight, as she began licking the ice-cream.

Remus sighed in resignation. "When you're finished, go to the pet shop next door and stay there. Sirius told me to pick a pet for you. So go ahead and choose one."

In the Magical Menagerie, Henry wondered who the pet was meant for when Carina once again pulled him all over the place and talking non-stop. "Oh, stop it!" Henry finally told her off, when he nearly tripped near the snakes section. He instantly regretted it on seeing her lips quiver in hurt and distress. "Oh no, I didn't mean it," Henry pulled her closer and patted her head. "Let's go slow, okay? So I can actually think about what you say from time to time."

She laughed. "Okay," she said, and tried hard to keep herself under control. "What do you think about that cat?"

"Nah," Henry shook his head. "I'm not a cat person." He looked around. "I was thinking of getting an owl, so I could write to you from Hogwarts."

Carina's eyes glowed with delight. "Come on!" she squealed, dragging him towards the owls.

'Here we go again,' thought Henry, rolling his eyes, as he was pulled from the spot by his excitable cousin.

Soon, he had obtained a snowy-white owl. From his memories, he knew it wasn't Hedwig, and on enquiring, he found out that there was another snowy-white owl that had been purchased only a day ago.

"- yes, the Potters! Jamie Potter himself came here! He took a clever little kneazle kit - yes, yes, they took the snowy owl too for that other boy of theirs - wasisname - never mind, yeah -"

'So, Hedwig is back with Harry Potter,' thought Henry approvingly. The owl was clever and affectionate, she would do good to Harry.

"Don't you have phoenixes?" asked Carina with disappointment.

The shopkeeper laughed at her question. "Look here, little missy, there be no phoenix in existence today. They are a thing of myth and folklore, not real."

Henry frowned. Did Dumbledore not have a phoenix in this reality? He recalled the words of Death - that in his reality Fawkes was, like he was here, an agent of Death - Gellert Grindelwald himself - after he had reunited the Hallows.

"How can you be so sure?" Henry defended his cousin. "Perhaps they don't like to come out in the presence of humans."

"Well - then they wouldn't make a good pet, would they?" shot back the shopkeeper before leaving the two children.

"Don't you worry, Carina," Henry told her softly. "I have a feeling you will see a phoenix someday. And you know how my feelings tend to come true?"

Carina smiled beautifully at her cousin.

**Author's Note:** I like reviews. Just so you know.


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Henry waved at the Potters.

Remus had escorted Henry to Platform Nine and Three Quarters, as Sirius had to stay home as Gwenog had mysteriously come up with a severe headache. Somehow, Carina had managed to convince her mother to let her go with Remus. The three of them had been early and Henry had claimed an empty compartment by keeping his stuff all over the place.

After that, he had returned to the platform and that was when he saw the Potters.

"Good morning, Henry," Lily greeted him before giving him a quick hug. "Excited?"

"Very," Henry didn't have to lie. Although he had the memories and maturity of his previous life, and his magical core, the emotions were all new. He was looking forward to Hogwarts. "Hello, Mr. Potter, Jamie, Harry." He grinned at the others. "Hey, I got a new snowy owl too. But I haven't named it yet."

"I picked it!" Carina piped in from over Lily's shoulder while she was being hugged.

"You boys should get on the train," said Lily. "Better not risk missing it." She looked sadly at her sons. "Behave yourselves and study hard. Good luck."

"Get into Gryffindor or don't bother returning," added James. He got a dark glare from his wife. "Just kidding." In a lower voice, he added, "Just don't get sorted into Slytherin."

"Jamie!"

Henry saw the Weasley family arrive and the two youngest Weasleys rushed towards the boy-who-lived. He saw Jamie completely ignore his twin and join his admirers. But before he could move, he felt a pressure against his back. Carina's arms were around him, and she wasn't letting go.

"Umm," muttered Henry uncomfortably. He brought the girl in front and patted her head. She was in tears. "I'll be back for Christmas, squirt." He leaned closer and kissed her forehead. "Be a good girl."

"I'll miss you," she said while letting go.

"I'll miss you too," said Henry. "Now, say goodbye to Harry."

"Bye, Harry!" Carina added, and Harry waved at her with a smile.

Henry followed after Harry. "I got us a compartment," he said. As they were walking, Henry heard a voice call out to him from inside a compartment.

"Henry, come in! I found an empty one!"

Henry peeped into the compartment and saw Jamie, Ron and Ernie settled happily, about to start a game of magical soldiers. He sensed the disappointment in Harry.

"I've already got my stuff further down," said Henry. "I'll see you guys later."

"You can join them if you want," said Harry in a low whisper as they continued walking. "I'll be fine."

"Don't be ridiculous," said Henry, turning back to look at Harry seriously. "I can't stand Weasley or MacMillan, and Jamie is becoming too full of himself."

"Amen to that." They had nearly run into Neville Longbottom. "Can I join you guys?"

"Sure," said Henry, and Harry nodded as well.

Soon, they were settled and talking about houses.

"Dad wants me to not worry about the sorting and study hard regardless of which house I am in," said Neville. "But I think he would like me to get into Ravenclaw, like him, but he can't say that because mum was in Hufflepuff and she doesn't abide with these house rivalries."

"That's very adult of him," said Henry. "Much different from Mr. Potter and Uncle Sirius. Die-hard Gryffindors, those two."

Neville chuckled. "What'll happen if you don't get into Gryffindor?" he asked Harry.

Harry appeared slightly troubled. "I don't know," he admitted. "I think things will remain the same." But there wasn't any joy in that hope, but rather a long forgone resignation.

This time Henry noticed that Neville did react slightly to Harry's glum voice. But before anyone could say anything else, the door opened.

"Hello," said a bushy-haired girl.

'Hermione Jane Granger,' thought Henry with an internal grim. He stood up before she could start talking and intimidate the other two. "Hi, I'm Henry Black," he shook hands with her, to her surprise and relief.

"Hermione Granger," she said. "I'm trying to meet other first years. I'm a muggleborn, you see, and didn't know about magic or anyone in the magical world until very recently."

"Harry Potter," Harry also stood up to shake hands with the girl.

The girl gasped. "Potter - as in, Jamie Potter? Are you family?"

"They're twins," Henry cut in. "That's Neville Longbottom," who waved at the girl from his seat.

Hermione turned with surprise from Harry to Neville. "As in Earl Longbottom? Are you family?"

Henry pretended to sulk. "Hey, I'm feeling like you're not particularly interested in me here."

Hermione whipped her head to look at him sheepishly. "Sorry," she said.

"Have you got a seat somewhere?" asked Henry curiously, recalling from memory that in his previous life, Hermione had been wandering up and down the train throughout the journey.

"Well," she began uneasily. "I put my stuff in a compartment with some first years. But they lost interest in me when they found out I was muggleborn. So I decided to meet others."

"Oh," said Harry sympathetically. "Join us," he invited. "There's plenty of space here."

"Yeah," Henry agreed, when he saw Hermione's eager and happy expression. "Much better than wandering up and down the train for the next six hours."

Hermione flashed a grateful smile and sat down next to Neville. "If you don't mind me asking, are you all purebloods?"

"I am," said Neville. "Harry is a -"

"First generation pureblood, as his mother is a muggleborn witch," finished Hermione, before blushing at Henry's pointed look of incredulity. "I read a few books before coming. 'The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts' had a chapter on the Potters."

"What other books did you read?" asked Henry.

"Well, all the prescribed texts, of course," said Hermione, and Neville and Harry shared a look of panic, "and a few for background reading. 'Hogwarts: a History', volumes I to IV -"

"I've read all ten volumes!" Harry said excitedly.

Hermione turned to him with surprise. "I couldn't afford to buy all of them," she said. "But I'm hoping to get a few more next year."

"You don't have to buy them. The Hogwarts library should have them all," said Henry.

Hermione nodded at his advice but didn't commit herself to it. "I really wanted to read Volume VI on the Forbidden Forest but decided to go with the chronological flow -"

Harry grinned at her. Without saying a word, he stood up and walked to his trunk and opened it. The next second, he turned to Hermione. "Here you go," he said, passing her Volume V and Volume VI of the massive publication. "Volume V is the most useful one," he told her. "It's got information on the interior of the castle and its history. If you read between the lines, it mentions some secret and magical passages and a trick to get the moving stairway to move according to where you want to go."

"Oh!" Hermione looked at the book adoringly. "Can I borrow it?" Harry nodded and she instinctively gave him a hug. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"

This time, it was Neville and Henry who shared a look of disbelief. "Crazy, I tell you," said Henry conspiratorially to Neville. "She seems as much of a hug-junkie as Carina."

Hermione blushed.

"Hey, you guys," said Henry, getting up. "I'll have a quick look to see how Susan is getting along."

"Sure," said Harry, and Henry noted appreciatively at how his confidence already seemed higher after the episode with Hermione. In fact, both of them had come with a lot of insecurities and were doing each other a world of good. It made him wonder, as he walked, how things would have turned out in his previous world if he had entered into a compartment with Hermione Granger instead of Ron Weasley.

Almost immediately, he chuckled and shook his head. If that had happened, he would have jumped out of the train window in horror and ran as far as possible from the magical world. The girl, for all her good points, was intimidating.

He knocked on the door.

"Come in."

Henry stepped in and smiled at Susan. "I dropped by to say hello," he said.

Susan smiled at him. "It's good to see you again. Henry Black," she introduced him to the others in the compartment. "This is Hannah Abbott, she was complaining about making it mandatory for her to come all the way down to London from Yorkshire only to travel back North again."

Henry looked at her sympathetically. "The Hogwarts Express takes a hidden magical route and cannot stop in most muggle stations," he said. "But somewhere in Yorkshire should have been a fairly logical place to have a stop."

"See!" said Hannah, glad that someone else agreed with her.

Susan laughed. "I'm sure you're correct," she said. She continued with the introductions. "This is Lisa Turpin." A pretty brown-haired girl waved at him.

"And Daphne Greengrass."

Henry felt his breath hitch. He recalled her from memory but he didn't realize how his own emotions and feelings would have changed with respect to the people he once knew. The girl was, in one word, stunning. Her dark hair fell around her pale face in straight waves, flawless and sharp features. He took a deep breath and steadied himself, noting that Daphne was looking at him with amusement. For a brief moment, he wondered why he had never noticed this divine beauty before, and he put it down to his blind prejudice against everything Slytherin.

"H-Hi," Henry managed to breathe out finally, grimacing at the high pitch of his voice.

"Oh, dear," said Susan. "He's got it bad." She turned to Daphne as if Henry weren't even there. "At least, he is slightly more interesting than Draco Malfoy and his friends."

"Oh, please," Daphne said loftily. "Even a goldfish out of tank would outmatch Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle in wits. Collectively."

Henry chuckled. "Malfoy's not that bad when he's not talking about himself," he said. They had met recently, as per Gwenog's schemes, and Henry had endured an afternoon of listening to Malfoy talk about himself and the glorious Malfoy family.

"And that's like - uh, never," said Daphne, and Henry shrugged acquiescingly.

Susan smiled at Henry. "Do you want to join us?"

Henry looked longingly at Daphne, who pushed her dark hair back and raised an eyebrow awaiting his response, and he reluctantly shook his head. "Thanks, but I'm perched with Neville and Harry and a muggleborn girl."

"If it's Granger, then apologise to her from us," said Daphne.

Susan explained. "She was with us when Malfoy's group came in. We shot her down, not letting her speak and reveal her blood-status, to avoid any unnecessary incident with Malfoy. She left us mid-way and was clearly upset."

"Yeah, she was," said Henry. "But she's having a fun chat with Harry about Hogwarts: A History now." He shuddered slightly.

"More Ravenclaws," Lisa muttered hopefully.

"Perhaps," said Henry. He looked at the girls, and Daphne, in particular. "I sincerely hope we can remain friends despite our houses." Once again, he grimaced mentally at how extremely formal he sounded.

"You're right, Susan," said Lisa. "He's got it bad."

Henry blushed. But he relaxed when Daphne smiled at him in a friendly way. He turned around and left the compartment and returned to his own.

"I'm glad you're back," said Neville. "They've been chatting nonstop about Volume II and how Hogwarts is secured from muggles and muggle detection equipment."

"What I'm saying -" Hermione turned to them, "is that if a muggle satellite sends ionic emissions at Hogwarts, it is bound to pick up some complex signals that will make them suspicious."

"And I'm saying that anti-muggle wards may be weak, but the Hogwarts wards itself are Level 8 SPP and that may fuel the anti-muggle wards as well, and hence make detection impossible."

Henry blinked. He knew a lot more than either of them, he had read a lot more, he was more powerful than them, he was capable of a lot greater deeds, but he had never considered something so purely academic before.

"That's a valid concern, Hermione," said Henry. "And a valid response." He decided to play the mysterious but wise card, as he had no idea who was correct. After all, he had learnt from Dumbledore himself in his previous life. "Hermione, do you understand the terminology SPP and how wards work in general?"

"Not really," she admitted. "I haven't read anything about it anywhere before."

"And Harry," he turned to his friend. "Do you know what ionic emissions are and how they detect things and what satellites are capable of?"

Harry shook his head.

"I think you both should research on those things before continuing this debate," said Henry sagely, feeling very much like Albus Dumbledore at that moment.

"And in the meanwhile," Neville said loudly. "Let us have a game of magical soldiers."

So they played for the next couple of house, and Hermione felt that the game was very brutal, but when she saw how they fixed themselves magically at the end, she consented to play a game as well. In all, the remainder of the journey was pleasant, and they reached Hogwarts fairly confident in the knowledge that there was a budding friendship between the four of them as a group.

Henry had his memories, but seeing Hogwarts for the first time again, was every bit as wondrous and magical as it was before. He sighed. It felt right. He was back home.

"It's beautiful," agreed Harry. They entered a boat with Neville and Hermione, although Harry and Henry sat behind. Henry waved at the four girls he had met earlier as they moved past them on the lake. "Henry," Harry whispered urgently. "What if we're not in the same house? I want us to be together."

Henry smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry about it. We'll still be friends no matter what," he promised. But when Harry's anxiety didn't reduce, he added, "I've heard a rumour that if you really want to go to a house, let the hat know and don't waver when it tries to convince you otherwise. Don't listen to it and adamantly demand where you want to go."

Harry smiled gratefully at him.

The sorting began. Hannah Abbott was the first, and she went to Hufflepuff as Henry had expected. He himself was the next name to be called out.

"Black, Henry."

There were a few murmurs from the Slytherin table about the Black heir. But other than that, everybody waited politely as Henry was sorted.

'Interesting. Curious. Very interesting. There's a great chunk of your mind blocked from me. Almost like Occlumency.'

'I lost all my memories of my early childhood when I was nine,' Henry lied.

'And that's a lie. But I cannot read much more than that. Interesting. Slytherin will be a good fit for you. Interesting.'

Henry became worried, he had expected the hat to buy his story.

'Curious. You have an agenda here and that is the reason for this deception. Interesting. Your agenda is to aid your young friend in his life and destiny. Very interesting. Tremendous loyalty like this can only belong in - HUFFLEPUFF.'

Henry sighed in relief. Any house but Slytherin would have been fine, he would fit in, and all things considered, Hufflepuff was the best place to be. If only Harry also got it, then they would be assured of friends who would be loyal to them and not abandon Harry like they had in the images he had seen in the Realm Between the Worlds.

He sat down next to Hannah Abbott, who shook hands with him in congratulations. He looked around to see any other familiar faces - Cedric Diggory was sitting halfway down the table, and he nodded at Henry when their eyes met. Herbert Fleet, keeper of their Quidditch team was also there and sitting next to Cedric. To Henry's surprise, he saw Nymphadora Tonks sitting at the far end with the oldest students. He realized she was a sixth year and he grinned when she changed her facial features to match his when she saw him looking at her.

Susan Bones was sorted to Hufflepuff, and she took the seat on Hannah's other side. There were a series of Ravenclaws and the occasional Gryffindor or Slytherin until Justin Finch-Fletchley joined them. Hermione Granger went to Ravenclaw. To Henry's surprise, and the first significant difference other than those effected by himself, was Daphne Greengrass also going to Ravenclaw. Then Neville Longbottom came to Hufflepuff and sat down next to Henry.

"Good job!" said Henry.

A girl called Megan Jones who appeared quite similar to his Aunt Gwenog in appearance also came to Hufflepuff. Ernie MacMillan, to Henry's relief, went to Gryffindor. A girl named Leanne Moon that Henry recalled had dropped out of Hogwarts during the Chamber of Secrets fiasco also came to Hufflepuff.

"I hope Harry makes it here," Neville whispered, when the Patil twins were separated into Gryffindor and Ravenclaw.

Henry nodded, and they announced 'Potter, Harry.' The Potter name, of course, led to the usual whispers and murmurs, but the gazes weren't directed at Harry but rather at the remaining first years, to get a glimpse of Jamie Potter.

Henry couldn't observe Harry's facial features under the Hat, but he could see his body stiffen, and then relax, and then stiffen again in resolve, before finally the Hat said unenthusiastically.

"Hufflepuff."

Harry removed the hat gleefully and ran towards the Hufflepuff table, ignoring the disappointed looks and noises from Gryffindor.

"I made it!" said Harry excitedly. "The hat wanted me to go to Ravenclaw, but I didn't want to be separated from you guys."

"How sweet," said Hannah.

Harry blushed and sat down next to her, being the only place left.

Jamie Potter definitely received the loudest cheers on being sorted to Gryffindor - but that was perhaps as much to do with his house than his status.

Later, they were led to the Hufflepuff common room by Nymphadora Tonks, their prefect.

"You seem a fairly decent bunch," she assessed them. "Four guys and four girls. You'll fit into a dormitory each. Slytherin and Ravenclaw have more first years, but that's a common trend. At least, we outnumber Gryffindor this year. I fully expect you to try your best to get us the House Cup, but remember, your own personal progress is a much more important and fulfilling achievement. Any questions?"

Henry raised his hand.

"Black," Nymphadora nodded. They were right outside the painting that led to the common room.

"I have heard that there's a secret passage to the kitchens somewhere here," Henry said, looking around curiously. "Can you point it out to us?"

"Why do you want to know that?" asked Nymphadora with narrowed eyes.

Henry grinned cheekily. "You know," he shrugged, "in case someone's pet kneazle or owl feels peckish in the middle of the night."

Nymphadora glared at him for a moment before letting out a chuckle. She put an arm on his back and led him away from the group. "I'm gonna like you," she said. "You see this portrait of fruits? Tickle the pear and it will let you in."

"Thanks, cousin," Henry said cheekily, and Nymphadora started slightly. "I'd like to get to know you better," he said sincerely, as they returned to the rest of the first years. "We're family."

Nymphadora smiled at him. "Certainly," she said. "Right. We don't do passwords or fancy riddles to get inside." She turned to the portrait. "Sister Agnes," she woke up a nun. "These are the new first years."

"Oh. Welcome to Hufflepuff, dears," she said kindly. "Now, let me memorize your faces so I remember to let you in. There wouldn't be a metamorph amongst you this year, would there?"

The first years shook their heads.

"Good, good," she said. "That makes it easy for me." She looked sharply at Nymphadora, who pouted indignantly, changing her face instantly. Sister Agnes laughed. "Don't be upset, Dora, I was only teasing. Go on then, take your new charges inside and let them sit warmly before the fire and share tales of faith and love."

Soon they were sitting on the rug in front of the fire. Henry, Harry, Neville and Justin. The girls were sitting on couches and armchairs - Susan, Hannah, Megan and Leanne. They had introduced themselves for the sake of those who didn't know them.

Justin was a muggleborn who had chosen Hogwarts over Eaton. Leanne Moon was the first witch in a long line of squibs, and her family was overjoyed to rejoin the magical world through her. Megan Jones was Gwenog's niece and seemed to share Gwenog's haughty nature.

"So, Henry," Susan started when Pomona Sprout had spoken to them kindly to ease their nerves and left them. Harry and Neville were talking with Justin and he decided to move closer to the girls. "Disappointed not to be in Ravenclaw?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," lied Henry, shifting in a dignified manner. "I always wanted to come to Hufflepuff. Kitchens, you know."

Susan smirked at him, and next to her, Hannah coughed in a manner that sounded a lot like 'Daphne'.

Henry narrowed his eyes but shot back, "I would have been disappointed if it weren't for the fact that Hufflepuff seems quite comparable, if not better, than Ravenclaw in taking the top spot for pretty girls this year." He wasn't joking. Ravenclaw had Daphne, Lisa and Padma, and he knew how well Hermione would blossom in a few years. But Hufflepuff girls were equally attractive in general.

Hannah and Leanne blushed, Megan rolled her eyes, Susan snorted.

"Are you sure there's not a Gryffindor hidden somewhere down there?" asked Susan with a raised eyebrow.

"Ah, the pain. You wound me, Susan," said Henry mournfully, clutching his heart in mock pain. The girls - even Megan - laughed at his antics. He gave Susan a mock nasty glare and returned to the boys.

"Henry, we were talking about the other houses," said Neville, "and how lucky we are to be here."

"Yeah." Justin nodded. "I don't like the sound of Slytherin. That Malfoy fellow was very rude to me."

"Mate, you would have been crucified in Slytherin," said Henry.

Neville chuckled. "And Gryffindor is only slightly better. Weasley and MacMillan are such -" he struggled to find a word.

"Retards?" Henry supplied helpfully, and Harry nodded.

"I hope Jamie gets his head sorted soon, though," said Neville. He sounded sad. "He was my best friend.

"Was?" enquired Harry.

"Today in the train, I wanted to join their compartment, and Weasley demanded to see my magical soldiers. When I said I had none, MacMillan said they were going to play through the journey and they only wanted people to join them if they had their own soldiers." Neville said sadly. "Jamie heard them and said nothing."

Henry looked at Neville with a commiserating expression. "It's just a phase most likely," he said. "The Ravenclaws don't seem too bad."

"They're all right," said Justin. "I sat with Andrew Goldstein, Terry Boot, Su Li and Michael Corner. Michael was a bit of a twat to Su but otherwise they seemed decent."

Soon they retreated down the tunnel through a burrow to their dormitory. Henry was impressed by the Hufflepuff living area, it was very homely and comfortable, and the colours were less oppressive than Gryffindor.

They dormitory had four queen-sized beds, with a partial wall separating each two. Henry and Harry claimed beds next to each other, and Neville and Justin took the other side.

"I have a feeling this is the start of a fantastic seven-year period," said Henry loud enough for all four of them to hear, as he was lying on his bed and staring at the ceiling, and the candle-light slowly faded away.

"Don't jinx it," came Neville's disgruntled response.

The first day was very eventful for Henry. He woke up early and went for a walk around the great lake before breakfast. But on his way, he met with several familiar faces. First, was the encounter with Jamie, Ron and Ernie in the great hall for breakfast.

"Hey, Jamie," Henry called out. "How was the night?" He wasn't surprised when he saw Ron sneer at him in a superior manner. It was one of Ron's faults even in the previous world - to treat everyone who wasn't a Gryffindor, male and at least as old as him like dirt.

"Get out of our way, Hufflepuff," said Ron not very kindly, pushing Henry as he walked past him to the Gryffindor table. Ernie chuckled and Jamie smiled.

"Jamie?" Henry asked in a cold voice. This was completely unwarranted.

Jamie shrugged. Without saying a single word, he then left for the Gryffindor table and joined Ron, Ernie, Parvati and a blonde girl.

"Idiots."

Henry turned around and grinned. "Hermione," he said cheerfully. "How's Ravenclaw?"

"It's fantastic!" said Hermione. "You were right. Daphne and Lisa don't hate me, they were just trying to save me from Malfoy, and Padma's really nice too. The four of us share a dormitory. Su Li, Mandy Brocklehurst and Morag MacDougal seem nice as well but I haven't really spoken to them much."

"That's nice."

"You must be very comfortable!" said Hermione. "You've got two of your closest childhood friends with you!" Before Henry could respond, she continued, "Is Harry up yet? I wanted to return his book, as the great library here has all the volumes of Hogwarts: A History."

Henry blinked. "You've been to the great library already? Hermione, it's only the first morning!"

"Well, that didn't stop you from getting your shoes and robes all muddy and damp!" Hermione retorted.

"Touché," said Henry. "I'll tell Harry you were looking for him." Something jogged in his memory. "Oh, Hermione. I'm making a list of birthdays of all my new friends. When's yours?"

Hermione flushed and stammered.

"What's that? September 19?" said Henry. "Cool! It's just around the corner! We'll definitely have to plan something!"

Hermione flushed deeper but smiled at Henry's comments. "When's yours?"

Henry shook his head. "No idea," he said. "I was found with complete amnesia a few years ago with no recollection of my past life. They did some scans to discover my identity and sent me to my uncle's place. But I don't know when my birthday is."

"Oh," said Hermione. She seemed at a loss. "But what about the years when you stayed with your uncle? You must have done something."

"Nothing openly," admitted Henry. "My aunt isn't entirely too comfortable with my presence. But my cousin and uncle give me a card and a box of sweets on Halloween, the day I was found."

"Halloween," Hermione memorized before leaving Henry and joining the rest of her housemates.

But barely had she left that Henry had his third interesting encounter of the day.

"Black!" hissed a voice, and Henry turned around to come face to face with Draco Malfoy and his sidekicks Crabbe and Goyle. "Just when I thought you couldn't sink any lower by getting sorted to Hufflepuff, you start consorting with mudbloods and blood traitors! You are a disgrace to the noble house of Black!"

Henry sighed dramatically. "Oh, Draco. You have so much to learn, my friend."

"I'm not your friend!"

"Not yet, you aren't," agreed Henry. "But you will be. You will also regret being in Slytherin instead of say, Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff. Look," Henry pointed towards the tables, which were beginning to fill up. "Slytherin and Hufflepuff. Look at the first years. What do you see?"

Draco drew himself up proudly. "Slytherin house is full of proper purebloods with dignity. Hufflepuff -"

" - has a larger quantity and better quality of pretty girls," finished Henry. "Ravenclaw is even better. Admittedly, Gryffindor is rather lacking in that respect as well."

"Girls!" Draco spat disgustedly. "Who wants anything to do with girls and their cooties?"

Henry raised an eyebrow and chuckled. "Yeah, well. Anyway, you have fun with Crabbe and Goyle; I see Susan and Hannah looking at me. See you around." He waved.

"You too," said Draco, raising his hand in a wave, before shaking himself and realizing they were supposed to be antagonists. "Wait, you can't just leave -" but Henry had already left.

"Hello, ladies," greeted Henry, as he sat down next to Susan.

"We were coming to help you against Malfoy," said Hannah in the typical Hufflepuff loyalty mode.

"Why would you think Malfoy and I have something against each other?" Henry pretended to be shocked. "We're cousins."

Hannah was confused. Susan frowned before realizing he was speaking the truth. "He had a nasty look on his face when talking to you," said Susan.

"Oh," said Henry, as if comprehending her confusion. "That's normal when you're near Crabbe and Goyle."

Susan spluttered a mouthful of pumpkin juice while Hannah started giggling.

Henry reached behind her and patted Susan's back to settle her coughing fit. He realized they were getting a lot of attention from Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw house. Henry looked up and nodded when he saw Harry wave at him while talking to Hermione near the Ravenclaw table. He soon joined them, and then Neville and Justin arrived together with Leanne and Megan.

Professor Sprout walked over to give them their timetables. "I'm glad to see such kinship between you lot so early in the year," she said, sounding pleased. "You will share most of your classes with Ravenclaw, except for Defence, where you will be with Gryffindor, and Charms, where you will be with Slytherin."

Susan groaned.

Professor Sprout looked at her indulgingly and continued. "Today, you have double Transfiguration, followed by lunch, followed by double Charms."

Henry walked with the full group of Hufflepuffs to their Transfiguration class. Harry claimed to know the route from Hogwarts: A History, and they all followed him; and although Henry knew a shorter route, Harry managed to reach their destination right in time. The Ravenclaws arrived simultaneously.

"Hey, Daphne!" Henry called out. He ignored Susan and Hannah's giggles and walked towards the beautiful brunette.

"Henry Black," Daphne acknowledged him, scrutinizing him properly. "I suppose you would like to sit next to me?"

"I would really like to sit next to you," admitted Henry.

Daphne sighed. "Then next time don't come to class in muddy robes." She sat down next to Hermione, who glanced apologetically at Henry.

Henry looked mournfully at her while Harry pulled him towards a seat. That was when Henry saw the cat stalking around the room that jumped up on the table. Next to him, Susan and Hannah were talking to Lisa and Padma about how strict Professor McGonagall was in a voice that carried over.

"Uh, guys," Henry tried interrupting. "You really shouldn't say such things about a teacher." They paused and turned to him. Henry Black was not the first person they would have guessed to be a stickler for rules and authority. "At least, not when she's staring right at you." He pointed to the cat.

The girls burst out laughing, and most of the class except Harry and Hermione joined in. But then the cat jumped from the table whilst simultaneously transforming into a rather stern looking woman.

"Five points to Hufflepuff for keen observation and a semblance of respect for professors," said McGonagall. "Self-transfiguration and Animagus-transfiguration is the culmination of several years of in-depth study into the theory and practice of transforming the shape, colour, texture, properties and nature of one material to another. Which, of course, can only be achieved under the STRICT guidance of an experienced instructor."

She began teaching them, setting them the task of transforming a matchstick into a needle; and those who managed to do it perfectly would be exempted from writing a twelve-inch essay on the topic. Henry had his developed magical core and his experience to know exactly what to do and how to do it. He tried fumbling around for a bit. Next to him, Harry was trying repeatedly with a desperate desire to succeed.

"Slowly, Harry," said Henry. "Try to understand the change you want to perform. See the matchstick? It's wooden, with two blunt ends, cylindrical in shape. Now, think of a needle. A needle is made of metal, it's longer and thinner, with one sharp end." Harry nodded. "Okay. Try it then. Keep in mind the change you want to perform. One change at a time. Visualise it in your mind. And do it calmly."

Harry nodded. He pointed his wand at the matchstick and tried again. On his third attempt, something happened, and he gasped in shock. One end of the matchstick became metallic and pointed.

"Well done, Mr. Potter," said McGonagall. She turned to Henry. "Perhaps you would like to show us if you can do the same, Mr. Black. After all, you gave the whole class a rather interesting lesson in transfiguration."

Henry blushed. He didn't realize he had spoken out that loud. He also noted that McGonagall had given points to Hermione and Daphne for less prominent changes and had completely neglected to award any points to Harry.

He waved his wand and the matchstick started transforming. But instead of one sharp end, it had two. Henry deliberately kept it less than perfect. "Oops," he said, and attempted to fix it.

"Leave it be, Mr. Black," said McGonagall. "That is very well done. One of the best first attempts I have seen in recent memory. Five points."

When she left, Harry turned to Henry dolefully and both shared a look to convey they had noted that even McGonagall was acting weirdly against Harry by not awarding him any points.

"Forget it, Harry," Henry whispered. "It's not important. Focus on the magic." Harry nodded and returned to his task. By the end of the class, only Henry had a perfect needle. Hermione, Daphne and Harry had come close, but each had one or other aspect missing. Hermione's needle ignited when struck against a flint. Daphne had two blunt ends, Harry had a small bit of wood left.

The next class was Charms.

Henry was not looking forward to it, at least not until after Halloween. Professor Flitwick was one of the best teachers in the school, and so he knew the hazards of allowing students to play with wands without adequate theoretical knowledge. They had avoided any mishaps in Transfiguration, but that was because the Ravenclaws were a bright lot, and the Hufflepuffs made up for it by being meticulously thorough.

"I was hoping to do more magic," Harry sounded disappointed when they finished class and were packing up.

Henry nodded. It was a good suggestion. "We could head to the library and find a book on basic spells and try them out on our own."

"That's a wonderful idea!" Hermione joined them from behind. She flushed when the two boys jumped at her sudden arrival. "Do you mind if I join you guys?"

Harry shook his head and smiled at her warmly. "It'll be nice to have you, wouldn't it, Henry?"

Henry smirked at Harry and opened his mouth to make a quip about Hermione and Harry, but Hermione caught his expression and spoke first in a slightly threatening voice.

"Do you want me to invite Daphne or not, Henry Black?" she asked with narrowed eyes.

Henry wisely shut up and nodded his head vigorously. Soon, the four first years were in the library pouring their heads over different books. Hermione had brought Daphne and Susan with her.

"I have one," said Henry first of all. "The most basic spell. Lumos." Unwittingly, he had cast the spell as he spoke, and the others gasped when a bright silver light emerged from his wand. "Uh. Finite."

"Wow," said Hermione. "You're really good at magic. Lumos." She tried a few times, before a faint mist came from her wand. Harry obtained a bright light on his second attempt but couldn't maintain it for more than a moment. Daphne managed after a few attempts, but like Harry, couldn't hold it for longer than a couple of seconds.

Before giving it a shot, Susan looked curiously at Henry. "Any tips?" she asked.

Henry looked at her thoughtfully. "It helps if you envision in your mind the beam that you want to emerge from your wand."

Susan nodded and tried. The light from her wand wasn't as bright as Harry's but she could hold it for much longer.

"Any other spells?" asked Hermione eagerly.

Henry nodded. "But most of them shouldn't be attempted in a library."

"We need someplace else to practice," agreed Harry.

"Common room?" asked Hermione, but Daphne shook her head.

"We can't go to theirs and they can't come to ours," Daphne explained.

Harry frowned. "There was a very brief mention in Hogwarts: A History of a room of arcane magic in Hogwarts to meet the requirements of any who comes and goes through it."

"A room of requirements!" Henry nodded. "That's what we need! We should make it our top priority to locate that room, and until then we should practice what we already know."

"A light spell," Daphne muttered sarcastically. "That's going to be real useful if somebody's trying to hurt you."

"You'll be surprised that Lumos is actually classed as a protective spell. A strong Lumos acts as a shield against vampires, keeping them from coming too close to you. Also, a Lumos Solem can actually hurt a vampire."

Daphne rolled her eyes at Hermione's knowledge. "Know-it-all," she muttered, not unkindly.

**Author's Note:** Thought I'd clarify something right now. Those of you under the impression this story is free, think again. It costs **1 review per chapter per reader**.


	6. Chapter 5

**Author's note: **Hi all. Apologies for the delay, was caught up with work. Thanks very much for your reviews - I really enjoy reading them, even if I do not have time to respond. Knowing that you enjoy my story makes writing it so much more rewarding.

Please continue reviewing. My next chapter will include responses to common questions posed by reviewers (no spoilers, but feel free to ask for clarifications, general direction of the story etc).

**Chapter 5**

Henry walked towards the fire.

The first years were huddled around the fire, struggling with their homework. The first two weeks had grown in intensity to such extremes that the students struggled to find time for anything other than homework and lessons. Henry knew that it was only a matter of time before they settled into a decent routine; the first few weeks, from his previous experience, were the hardest transition period.

Potions by far was the hardest class, if only because Henry had to endure Snape's taunts towards Harry. Personally, he was mildly surprised when Snape treated him respectfully, and he recalled that Regulus Black and Severus Snape had been housemates and Death Eaters who had reneged on Voldemort. Perhaps, Snape felt kinship towards the poor orphaned son of Regulus, doomed to live with insufferable Gryffindors.

"What are you working on?" asked Henry, sitting on the rug between Harry and Hannah in the Common Room. Harry was struggling with his Potions essay while Hannah was reading a book on Herbology.

"I just don't get this!" Harry said in frustration. "Why add salamander eggs to this calming draught? Salamander eggs are highly combustible when used with murtlap essence. Wouldn't it explode?"

Henry frowned and peered at his work. "No. That's because the potion is stirred with a silver spoon. Read Chapter 6," he said. "It has a chart on how incompatible ingredients may be forced to work together with different stabilisers."

"Oh," said Harry gratefully. He turned pages on the thick potions reference tome and started scribbling on his parchment from there.

"Guys," said Henry. "It's Hermione's birthday this Saturday," he said. Immediately, Harry whipped his head and turned to Henry in surprise. Hannah also looked up. Susan and Neville were nearby and moved closer to Henry. "Since we have all been working hard, I was thinking maybe we could have a small party for her."

"That would be brilliant!" said Harry.

Hannah smiled at the two boys. "That's very sweet of you. We should invite Lisa and the other Ravenclaws as well."

Henry nodded. "Since I've finished all my work for the week, shall I organise something?"

Susan looked at him with disbelief. "You've finished everything?" she gasped. "Are you even human?"

Henry smirked in a self-contented fashion. "Call me superhuman, baby."

Susan rolled her eyes. "It would be nice if you organized something for her. We haven't really seen much of the Ravenclaws outside of class this last week and I heard from Lisa that Ron Weasley and Jamie Potter were mean to Hermione in Charms."

Henry knew exactly how mean Ron Weasley could be. "I'll get a group present from Hufflepuff house by owl-ordering a few books from Flourish & Botts, if you all let me know how much your budget is."

They all nodded.

The party was magnificent. They had pretended to have forgotten all about Hermione's birthday all morning and afternoon. After lunch, Daphne and Lisa excused themselves saying they had some private stuff to discuss with Susan. They joined the a few other of their housemates and walked to the portrait of fruits near the Hufflepuff common room.

Henry stood by the portrait and opened it by tickling the pear. He gestured for the group to move ahead and enter the kitchen. Harry was already inside with Susan and the other Hufflepuff first years, ordering the house-elves to decorate properly. Lisa smiled at him and walked inside with Su Li, Anthony Goldstein and Morag MacDougal. Daphne lingered outside with Henry.

"This is very nice of you," said Daphne. She looked slightly guilty. "I'll admit. I didn't know today was Hermione's birthday until you told us."

Henry looked at her hopefully. "Is this the point where you lean forward starry-eyed and I kiss you and we live happily ever after?"

"Absolutely not," said Daphne, although her cheeks turned a hint of red.

"Aw," Henry sighed in disappointment. He showed Daphne inside and followed her. She gasped on seeing the inside. "Is it adequate?"

There was a whole large segment of the kitchen decorated with balloons and ribbons and a huge banner saying 'Happy Birthday Hermione' and a large table with sufficient chairs around it. On the table were all kinds of delicious tea-time snacks - half a dozen different varieties of pastries and cakes, lots of mini sandwiches, lemonade and orange juice and root beer.

"It is excellent," Daphne agreed.

"Shh," Susan joined them. "I hear voices."

So they did.

" - and I really don't think we should be here, Padma," Hermione was saying urgently. "Let's go back. I've got a headache and - and - and – huh?"

"Happy birthday to you... Happy birthday to you... Happy birthday to Her-Mione... " They all chorused. "Happy birthday to you."

Hermione stood in complete shock at the large group and the decorations and the two presents on the table. She looked at them with teary eyes and started sobbing. Instinctively, she reached for Padma and hugged her. "Thank you," she cried.

"Henry did most of the work," said Padma.

Hermione rushed to Henry and hugged him next. "Thank you, thank you."

Henry patted her back and whispered, "Harry's been decorating all morning."

Hermione blushed slightly but moved to Harry next and stayed in his embrace for a long few seconds. Harry looked over her head and grinned at Henry.

In all, the party was a success. Professor Flitwick and Professor Sprout dropped by for a short visit, as Henry had seen it fit to obtain their permission beforehand.

"It is good to see our two houses come together like this," said Flitwick to Sprout, as they observed the youngsters enjoying themselves. "Perhaps Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff will heal the malicious house rivalries that has become so strong in these halls."

Pomona nodded. "There is something special about this year's students. Henry Black and Hermione Granger come to mind foremost."

"Aye, they do," agreed Flitwick. "Mr. Harry Potter is not far behind. I heard he defended Miss Granger and Miss Patil from a group of bullying Gryffindors including his own celebrity brother and Miss Patil's sister."

"Pity about his condition, otherwise -" sighed Sprout.

"Pomona!" Flitwick interrupted sharply, and Sprout stopped abruptly and looked ashamed of herself. They left soon after.

Henry watched them leave with a frown on his face.

"You heard them too?" whispered Harry woefully. "What's wrong with me, Henry? What do my family and the professors know that makes them despise me?"

"There's absolutely nothing wrong with you, Harry! They're wrong!" Henry said firmly. He hesitated on noticing that Neville, Hermione and Susan were also listening in; Professor Sprout's voice had carried. He glared at them and they backed off.

"Did you hear?" Anthony Goldstein joined their group and broke the tense atmosphere. "Jamie Potter and Draco Malfoy got into a fight during their first flying lessons and used brooms unsupervised."

"Let me guess," said Henry. "Both or one of them got rewarded for it?"

Anthony was mildly surprised. "Yeah. There's a rumour that Jamie Potter has been chosen to play Seeker for Gryffindor." He shook his head. "For sheer recklessness."

Henry spoke out. "He is good at flying," he agreed. "But imagine if a Ravenclaw or a Hufflepuff would have done something like that?"

"That's a disturbing thought," Susan shuddered. "Hufflepuffs acting like Gryffindors." She glared at Henry, as if fully certain that he was the only one who'd do such a thing.

Term progressed in good pace, and Henry subtly directed Harry and some of his new friends towards relevant and interesting material to read. To Neville, he quickly showed a direct link between Herbology and Potions, how a good Herbologist, if he mastered Potions, could become a skilled Healer. That made Neville very determined to do well in Potions as well. With Susan, Henry occasionally debated about issues of policy and law from History of Magic, knowing that she was very keen to follow her aunt in politics.

"So, you're saying that goblins, centaurs and other magical creatures used to walk freely in human society before 1637?" she asked in disbelief. "How on earth did they manage to remove all traces of goblins from muggle knowledge?"

Henry smiled. "They didn't," he said. "They merely went through a massive campaign to convert the truth into fiction. All muggle references to goblins and other creatures became sources of fantasy fiction and old wives' tales. Muggles know Merlin was a master of dragons, that Pellinore killed the great chimera, that Heracles killed the hydra, but they think all of that is fiction."

"Oh," said Susan. "So the International Confederation's main purpose is simply to ensure the barriers of secrecy are upheld."

"Yes," said Henry.

"But that's ridiculous!" argued Susan. "There's so much more they could achieve. They could - I don't know - they could make the world a much better place."

Henry smiled wryly. "Ask Justin or Hermione how effective the UN, muggle equivalent of the International Confederation, has been in doing all that. The ICW would have fared no better. Nationalistic countries will not give authority to a global organisation to make laws to affect them. Power hungry warlocks will play one faction against another."

One good thing about Hufflepuff house was that the senior students took an active role in helping the younger ones - especially the fourth and sixth year students who didn't have to study for OWLs or NEWTs. It wasn't unusual to see a first year pouring his or her head over a book with an older student.

As a result, Nymphadora also spent a lot of time with the first years in the common room. "I heard about your big party with the Ravenclaws," she said, joining the first years at their usual place by the fire. "It was the talk of the prefects' meeting. The Gryffindor prefect Percy Weasley was a bit disgruntled that nobody was invited from his house, the Slytherin prefect Adrian Pucey said it was a travesty to have a party for a muggleborn." She looked sharply at Henry and Harry. "Why wasn't I invited?"

"You're too old," said Harry without thinking. Henry slapped his forehead and backed away, abandoning his best friend at his time of need.

But Nymphadora chuckled at his antics. "Professor McGonagall has sanctioned an official Gryffindor house party. She seemed very put out as well by what she sees a snub to Gryffindor by Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. Don't be upset if McGonagall awards very few points to you lot in the next week or two."

"Why can't they just get it that we don't care about house politics!" Cedric Diggory had been helping Megan Jones with some research and he raised his head at Nymphadora's comment.

"Aunt Amelia says it is human nature," said Susan, joining in as well. "According to her, when there's a power struggle between two big blocs, the neutral parties are always seen with suspicion."

"Like the neutral countries during the cold war in the muggle world," said Henry.

"Exactly," said Susan. "There's nothing for us to do but chin up and let them continue in their ways while maintaining our own dignity. House points are insignificant," she dolefully waved her wand. "I just want to score well in exams."

"What spell are you trying?" asked Nymphadora. "I'll give you a hand after I finish my Arithmancy project."

"Wingardium Leviosa," said Susan. "We're not supposed to be doing it until next month but I wanted to get a head-start. It's not working."

"Here, I'm done with Potions," said Henry, joining her. "Let's have a look." He pretended to read the spell details from the book. "Give it a shot."

"Wingardium Leviosa," said Susan, but the quill in front of her didn't even twitch. "See!" she sighed exasperatedly.

"Your wand movements and incantation is perfect. It should be working," said Henry. He frowned. He pushed aside the quill and pointed to his Moste Potente Potions tome. "Try it with the book."

"But that's much heavier!" Susan protested.

"Give it a shot," said Henry.

Susan complied, and to her shock and delight, the book jerked upwards but fell back almost instantly. Her mouth split in a large smile and she turned to Henry with joy. "Did you see that? I made it move! Why didn't it work earlier?"

Henry patted her hand to applaud her success. "The problem was you were focusing too hard on getting the mechanics of the spell correct without accounting for the magical force required to fight gravity. I think you might have discounted the force needed because the feather is so light. With the heavier book, you pushed your magic harder into it. Try again."

Susan nodded and managed to lift the book a bit higher. She was overjoyed at the success.

"Wow," said Nymphadora. "Took my whole year a month in Flitwick's class to manage that much. Wish I had you as a tutor, cousin."

Henry grinned at her. He looked around and saw all the first years were trying to cast the same spell with moderate degrees of success.

A month later, in Professor Flitwick's class:

"Oh, my!" Flitwick gasped at his class of Hufflepuffs and Slytherins. The Hufflepuff half had their feathers floating over their heads, while not a single Slytherin had managed to even make theirs budge. "Never before on a first attempt - marvellous - simply marvellous - hundred points to Hufflepuff for such marvellous control. Three students from my previous class of Gryffindor and Ravenclaw also showed such progress. I will expect this year's exam results to be of a higher standard."

Henry stayed behind after class was dismissed. He appeared hesitant and Flitwick smiled at him reassuringly.

"Speak what's troubling you, Mr. Black," he said.

"It's probably nothing, sir, and I am most likely mistaken," Henry said. "But I thought I should let a professor know about something I overheard while walking in the corridors this morning."

"I am all ears," said Flitwick, wandlessly charming his ears to grow as large as an elephant's.

Henry chuckled. Then, seriously, he continued. "I overheard Professor Quirrel talking to someone. He said - He said, 'The troll is ready, master. It will distract the fools during the feast. I will get the stone', and -" he noticed Flitwick's ears shrink and the professor leaned forward with complete seriousness. "And - then a voice came the back of his head, sir, from the turban - it was a horrible voice, sir, almost snake-line, - it said 'Do not fail me, Quirinus. I must have the elixir.'"

Flitwick jumped from his seat. "By the Hammer of Thor! The feast is about to start. Are you absolutely certain you have told me everything and exactly as it occurred?" He looked at Henry intently.

Henry hesitated before nodding.

"Mr. Black, head back to your dormitory and stay indoors until further notice," said Flitwick. "Do not take narrow routes and run if you hear anything unusual."

Henry nodded and Flitwick ran as fast as he could towards the great hall.

He hesitated for a moment. But just to be certain, he closed his eyes, and thought, 'Memento Mori.' Immediately, he transformed into a phoenix and flew majestically, gauging with his phoenix-sight, the magic that permeated in the halls of Hogwarts. He took the route towards the girl's toilet and increased his speed when he heard two blood curdling screams.

On entering the toilet, he saw a horrible sight. Hermione and Daphne were crouched on a corner, while Harry was standing in front of them. He had his wand out with a brilliant light that had made the troll cover its eyes and stop a few feet in front of the three.

Henry saw the troll and let out a melodious trill. The troll didn't have the streaks of black which was present in those who dabbled in dark magic. Its soul was as pristine as that of any other animal that lived solely by instincts and not by deep reflection and premeditation.

The troll stopped in its charge and turned around with confusion towards the phoenix.

Henry flew around the troll, trilling a sweet melody of peace and harmony. The troll tiled its head on one side and gave a lop-sided smile. It raised his hands towards the phoenix. Henry decided to take a chance and flew down to the troll's shoulder.

"Pretty bird-iee!" the troll mouthed in a rough but pleased voice, and he sat down to listen to the song in comfort. In less than a minute, the troll had fallen asleep and was snoring loudly.

Meanwhile, Hermione had stood up and was resting in Harry's arms, while Daphne was staring at the phoenix in disbelief. That was when the professors arrived and gasped at the sight in front of them. Henry spread his wings and soared to the ceiling, and willed his magic to flare up - he had only used it once - but he knew it was well within his capability. The next moment, he was enveloped in fire and vanished.

He stepped into the Hufflepuff common room and waited. Soon, a large exodus of students returned with spicy bits and pieces of gossip.

"- what a duel! Henry!" Justin was saying. He, Neville and Susan rushed to him. "You missed all the excitement! Professor Flitwick and Professor Dumbledore duelled Quirrell and an evil phantom that was living in Quirrell's turban! What a duel!"

"What happened?" asked Henry.

"Quirrell was a dark wizard, who would have ever thought it!" said Susan. "He let a troll into the castle and burst into the great hall during the feast but before anyone could panic, Flitwick arrived and started duelling with him, and then a misty phantom rose came out of his turban and Dumbledore joined the battle."

"Where's Harry?" asked Henry.

Suddenly, the three others gasped in horror. "He went after Hermione! We have to go after them!" But before anyone could leave, Harry stepped through the portrait with the most serene and peaceful expression on his face. He joined the others and told them what had happened.

"You're kidding me!" said Susan. "A real phoenix!"

"They saw Daphne's memory of the whole thing in Dumbledore's pensieve." Harry nodded. "Flitwick said he was awarding me a special services plaque for holding the troll back for so long!" he said.

"Good job." Henry nodded. "Guys," he began seriously, looking at the close-knit group of Hufflepuffs. "This is ridiculous. Trolls, dark wizards and phantoms. What will be next? We have to learn how to defend ourselves."

"We definitely do," Harry agreed. "If the phoenix hadn't come in time, Hermione, Daphne and I would be dead by now. I delayed it long enough by casting a Lumos at its eyes but I didn't know what else to do. We need to learn how to defend ourselves."

"And I have found a place for us to learn magic!" continued Henry. "A house-elf told me where to find the room you mentioned at the beginning of term, Harry. Tomorrow's Saturday and most of the older students will be in Hogsmeade so we shouldn't be missed, we should start at once." The others nodded.

The next day, Henry found himself back in the Room of Requirements. It was designed comfortably with bookshelves holding the material they would need to read and practice areas to try their spell-casting. They had been inside nearly all day and thoroughly enjoying learning new magic with friends.

Hermione and Padma had their heads over thick books, devouring all the information contained within. Susan, Daphne and Lisa were practising the spells they would be learning in class in the coming month. Anthony Goldstein, Su Li and Neville were brewing a potion which Su believed had a strong possibility of coming for their exams. Justin, Hannah and Megan were experimenting with a number of useful spells such as Alohomora, Reparo, Silencio and Finite Incantatem.

Henry nodded at Harry. "Once again," he said. He raised his wand. "Petrificus Totalus!"

"Protego," Harry responded immediately, trying to shield Henry's curse. He laughed out in joy when a silvery shield rose in front of him and blocked Henry. "I did it!"

"I think you've got it now," said Henry, nodding appreciatively.

"And after nearly a hundred tries, about time," said Harry, rubbing the back of his head. It had taken him hours to be able to cast the shield spell and to bring it fast enough to block Harry's curse. "It's incredible how easy all these spells come to you."

"Says the first year who mastered an OWL level spell classified as Level 1 SPP," retorted Henry.

Harry flushed with pride.

"Guys!" Hermione called out to them.

Henry and Harry walked towards Hermione and Padma.

"We found something interesting you should hear," said Padma. "Gubraithian fire is seen as an extremely precious gift by species such as giants, trolls and merfolk. That may explain why the troll was so fascinated with the phoenix."

"What's this Gubra-thing fire?" asked Harry curiously, sitting next to Hermione, who smiled fondly at his fumbling over the word.

"It's a conjured everlasting magical fire that only the most skilled wizards can create," said Hermione. "Most magical species revere fire and Gubraithian fire allows them to be able to do so during harsh weather, and in the case of merfolk, underwater." She hesitated and continued in an undertone of disappointment, "But conjuring is an extremely difficult and advanced skill that we - that - oh!"

She froze abruptly when Harry waved his wand to conjure a bouquet of orchids.

"I learnt this last night so I could give it to you," explained Harry. His cheeks turned very red as he gave the bouquet to Hermione. "Weasley, MacMillan and Jamie Potter are idiots. We don't find you irritating or annoying. You're one of our closest friends. Don't let them upset you."

Hermione hugged the flowers as a tear escaped from her eye. She gently placed the flowers on the table and collapsed against Harry, who mouthed a 'thank you' to Henry, for teaching him the conjuring spell.

Henry shared a glance with Padma and both tactfully moved aside and joined Daphne and Susan. Henry looked at Daphne hesitatingly, fiddling with his wand, but the brunette raised her head from the book she was reading and faced him sternly.

"Don't even think about it," she said.

Henry sighed mournfully.

"I wouldn't mind some flowers, Henry," Susan piped in. "Can I not have some? Pretty please?"

"Me too! Me too!" said Padma. "Can I have roses instead? Pink and red?"

"No," said Henry with tight lips.

Term progressed and Henry's group became the source of common chatter amongst the staff. They performed extremely well in academics, several leagues ahead of their peers, and they seemed completely unfazed by the house rivalries between Gryffindor and Slytherin that went around them. More interestingly, the friendship of Henry Black and Harry Potter became the source of comparison between another Black-Potter friendship in the previous generation. But while the previous generation were mischievous troublemakers, the current generation were remarkably talented magicians. However, other than some unbiased members of the staff, the rest of the school was still convinced that Jamie Potter was the more deserving of the twins.

The first Quidditch match was an exciting event. Despite it being a Gryffindor v Slytherin match, most of the school went out to see it - to see the legendary rivals clash in a less vicious battlefield, while witnessing the flying talent of Jamie Potter.

Henry, however, was with Harry alone in the Hufflepuff common room.

"They came to see him," said Harry, referring to his parents. "They didn't even bother writing to me after Professor Flitwick informed them of the troll attack. Why don't they like me?"

Henry shook his head helplessly. "I wish I knew, mate."

"I wish I knew what my terrible affliction is that Sprout was talking about," said Harry. "I wish I knew why everyone hates me."

Henry frowned. "Okay, stop it, Harry," he said sternly. "Not everyone hates you. You've got many friends. You've got Hermione. And you've got me."

Harry smiled at his words and nodded. "I'm glad," he said happily. "Everything changed that night before Christmas when we argued about Zeus and Aries. You're my best friend."

Henry sighed. "Okay, Harry. Best friend rule number one: no soppy emotional chats."

Harry rolled his eyes and playfully punched Henry.

"I wish things work out between you and Daphne," Harry said sincerely.

Henry chuckled. "That's more like it… girls," he approved of the topic. "Are you sure you don't want to go out to meet your parents?"

Harry frowned. "You can go if you want," he said. "I know you like my mum."

Henry chuckled again. "That sounds very wrong," he said.

"You know what I mean!" Harry retorted. "I'll be fine here. I'm practising Engorgio and Reducio."

Henry nodded. "Okay, if you're sure. Don't try any harmful spells on your own."

"Yes, mother."

Henry laughed as he left the common room. He didn't particularly care about the Quidditch match but he was looking forward to see James and Lily again. He knew rationally that he should hate the Potters for how they treated Harry, but the child's instincts in him made him yearn to stay close to the people who were, in some twisted technical sense, his parents.

"Hello, Henry," Lily had left her husband when she saw him and walked closer. She looked slightly disappointed to see him alone. "Are you coming to see the match?"

Henry shook his head. "No, I came to say hello to you and Mr. Potter."

"That's very sweet of you," she said, but Henry detected the sadness in her voice. "How's Harry?"

"He's fine, practising some spells," said Henry.

"Oh, is he having trouble with lessons?" enquired Lily.

Henry quashed a desire to yell at her to ask Harry on her own. "We're both doing very well in lessons," said Henry. "Harry's studying ahead. He was trying to learn Engorgio and Reducio when I last saw him."

Lily gasped. "But that's a fourth year spell!" she exclaimed.

"Yeah," agreed Henry. "Harry's very good at charms." He saw Lily's eyes brighten and recalled that she too was very good at charms during her time in Hogwarts.

"Hey, Henry. How's it going?" asked James when they joined him.

"I'm good, thank you," he replied.

"Sirius told me to let you know that they are going to France for Christmas again this year," said James.

Henry nodded, disappointed that he wouldn't be seeing Carina for much longer.

"Why don't you spend it with us again?" asked Lily eagerly. "It would be very nice to have you."

Henry smiled at her offer. But he hesitated, not knowing what Harry's plans were. In all, Harry would be happier if he stayed at Hogwarts and he could really speed up his training somewhat. "That's very tempting, Mrs. Potter," he said. "But I'd like to spend it here in Hogwarts. The castle will be so amazing over Christmas with snow. I think Harry also wants to stay."

"Oh, I suppose," said Lily, slightly disappointed.

"It was good seeing you again." He turned around and left.

Hogwarts was indeed amazing during Christmas. A very small group was staying behind. But because of that, Henry and Harry got to meet people they wouldn't otherwise have spoken to during the school year.

"Hi. I'm Katie Bell," introduced a girl from Gryffindor.

"Henry Black," said Henry. "These are Harry Potter and Leanne Moon. Congrats on winning the matches against Slytherin and Ravenclaw."

The girl smiled gratefully. "Your brother is a fantastic Seeker," Katie told Harry, who nodded nonchalantly.

Henry recalled that in his previous life, Katie and Leanne had been in a relationship towards the end of Hogwarts and wondered if this was the day when they first met each other. If that was the case, his and Harry's presence could be an unnecessary interference in the course of true love.

"Harry and I were thinking of exploring around Hogwarts," said Henry. "You girls keen to join us?"

"No, thanks," said Katie. "I'm going to the music room to play piano."

"You play piano too?" asked Leanne in surprise. "I'm grade 4."

"Grade 6," said Katie in surprise. "Do you want to join me?"

Henry waved as the two girls departed, surprised that he had never known Katie Bell liked playing music. From his memories, he knew that he had been a bit of a loser and a twat to people, not unlike Ron Weasley, in his earlier life, and it was mainly the influence of Hermione that had salvaged both of them. He was also surprised by how close Harry and Hermione had become in such a short period and wondered if he himself had been attracted to Hermione at first. Unfortunately, although he had all the memories of his past life, he could not recall emotions.

"What do you want to do, Harry?" asked Henry. "Explore, play something, or learn more magic."

Harry grinned. "Learn more magic," he said. "But something fun and interesting."

Henry matched Harry's grin. "Come on," he said. "I have an idea." They rushed to the Room of Requirments. "But you have to promise me you won't tell anyone," whispered Henry. "Not even Hermione or Susan. At least, not until we know them better. This is a forbidden magic, although it isn't dark."

Harry looked at him in surprise. "Is that necessary?" Henry nodded. "Fine," he agreed. He gasped when he read the title of the book in Henry's hands - The Beast Within by Aesalon edited by Minerva McGonagall.

"Animagus," said Henry, with a flourish. "This is a rare book, in the restricted section, and we're lucky the Room of Requirements can provide us with a copy."

That became their major project through Christmas and the rest of the term. With the rest of their friends, they learnt other magic, at a level slightly above the rest of their peers, but privately Henry was beginning to hone Harry's duelling skill while also studying the text on Animagus transformations.

One night, Harry and Henry retired early into their dormitory.

"I'm ready," said Henry. "I can cast the spell which will induce a dream to reveal your Animagus form."

Harry was surprised. "Are you sure? The book said the spell is very hard and should not be attempted unless completely mastered."

"Trust me, Harry," said Henry. He knew he could do it. He had done it before for his godson Teddy Lupin, so he could revert to his animal form during full moon nights to reduce its effect on his blood. Although Teddy didn't transform into a werewolf, he had been sired by one, and the full moon affected him quite badly, unless he changed into his animal form, which ironically was not a wolf, but in fact, a chimpanzee.

"Okay," said Harry. He lay down on his bed. "I'm ready."

Henry cast the spell, and Harry promptly fell asleep. He wondered if he should cast it on himself, as he already had his phoenix form. In his previous life, he had done it, to reveal his falcon form. But his body had rejected the transformation itself due to an adverse reaction to his battle-weary body. He shrugged and cast it on himself.

It was a similar experience as before, at least to begin with. He found himself in the pond behind the Burrow with the entire Weasley family - not as they presently were, but in his memories - going about and doing all kinds of mundane daily activities. To Henry, the scene was like something he had seen in a television before - the emotions just were not there. He waved, and Ginny waved back, with little Lily Luna Potter in her arms. There was a sad smile on her face as she waved in farewell.

Instantly, the Burrow vanished and Henry blinked in the complete darkness around him. Then he found himself in the garden of Godric's Hollow. Henry gasped, he had expected to appear in Grimmauld Place or even Hogwarts. He realized that his subconscious considered Godric's Hollow to be his true home.

Lily Potter was sitting with her husband and they were having tea, while smiling at him fondly. In front of them, Harry and Jamie were flying in their brooms and tossing a Quaffle around. He smiled when he saw little Carina running around the garden with Sirius in his canine form, while Gwenog was laughing with her baby in her arms and Remus Lupin was reading a book on a hammock. Henry smiled at the scene and kept walking. He had discovered his home and his family; next, he had to discover his true form.

"Hello?" he called out. "Anybody here? Falcon?"

Sure enough, the Merlin falcon flew towards him from the sky. In his previous life, the falcon had appeared but was unable to merge with him due to the limitations of his damaged mind, soul and body. But this time was different; despite having his phoenix form as a gift from Death himself, the falcon flew towards him at great speed; Henry smiled and closed his eyes, waiting for the impact peacefully.

The bird collided against Henry's chest; he woke up.

"Harry," he whispered to check if he was done.

"You're up!" Harry whispered excitedly. He got up and sat on Henry's bed. "Did it work?" he whispered quietly.

Henry nodded.

"Me too!" said Harry. "I'm a raven. It's a gorgeous bird, not like those ugly crows." He hesitated. "It is fitting, I suppose. Ravens are bird of ill-omen, hated universally."

"Oh, stop your self-pitying," admonished Henry. "Ravens are also associated with knowledge and wisdom. I'm a falcon."

Harry grinned. "That's great! We can fly together!"

"Calm down, Harry," said Henry. "It's going to take at least a year, maybe two, to master the transformation."

"Oh. Let's start now then."


End file.
